The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was able to locate a hit-and-run suspect by examining car parts left at the scene.
“It’s always a good day when you get your guy,” said Sgt. John Hopkins.
Just in the past 24 hours, sheriff officials from the Orange County Major Accident Reconstruction Team let the family of a 26-year-old Orange County woman who was fighting for her life know. in intensive care that they had caught the man accused of hitting her with a car.
Authorities said Philip Roebuck punched the woman and left her on the side of the road, but not before leaving several car parts lying in the street.
When we arrived at the scene, the main evidence was the parts that were on the vehicle that had fallen off during the impact,” Deputy Paul Coleman said. “On these coins, there were different imprints, the manufacturers [and] part numbers.”
Deputies said the part numbers revealed the make and model of the suspect’s car – a Suburu Forester. The investigation led deputies from the Laguna Nigel crash site to Henderson, Nevada, where they found a damaged Suburu. They returned to Newport Beach where they arrested Roebuck on Tuesday.
Coleman said he used technology, including license plate readers placed throughout Southern Orange County called FLOCK, to narrow down the registered owner.
“As you drive, it will capture your license plate,” he said.
The investigation was accelerated when a witness returned a damaged bumper with a license plate a mile from the crash site.
The license plate matched an address that led authorities to a manhunt for Roebuck.
Michele Gile
