Suspects arrested in hit-and-run with stolen vehicle
By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer
Two people suspected of driving a stolen vehicle involved in a hit-and-run crash were arrested Saturday after hiding in a vineyard off Highway 29, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A CHP helicopter and Amo, a K-9 dog with the Napa County Sheriff’s Department, helped find the two suspects after a 40-minute search, according to the CHP and the Napa County Sheriff’s Department.
Lucas Vegvary, 21, of American Canyon, who is suspected of driving a stolen Acura, and his passenger, Ana Karen Garrido, 18, of Vallejo, gave up after Amo tracked them hiding at a winery, police said.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., Vegvary is suspected of crashing a stolen Acura into a Thunderbird on Highway 121 south of Stanly Lane and fleeing the scene, according to the CHP.
The Thunderbird’s driver had braked on Highway 121 after he realized a BMW ahead of him was about to turn left instead of right as they drove northbound toward Napa, CHP Officer Steven Wheat explained. The BMW was also hit.
The Acura, which sustained major front-end damage, is suspected of fleeing the scene to Highway 29, where it stalled near the Butler Bridge, Wheat said.
Vegvary and Garrido then fled on foot to a nearby vineyard before Amo located them, Wheat said.
“That dog picked up the scent and ran with it,” Wheat said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Perry said the suspects gave up as soon as Amo and his handler, Sheriff’s Deputy James Baumgartner, found them hiding inside a truck trailer at the winery.
Vegvary was booked at Napa County Jail on suspicion of hit-and-run, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving on a suspended license, Wheat said. He was on probation for a DUI and hit-and-run crash, according to police.
Garrido was booked on suspicion of stolen property possession, according to the Napa County Jail booking sheet.
The driver of the BMW complained of pain, but no one was transported to the hospital for treatment, according to the CHP.
Alcohol and drug use are not suspected in the incident, Wheat said. The incident remains under investigation, he said.
The goal of the story comments section at NapaValleyRegister.com is to have an open, thought-provoking, civil community forum for all issues.
What gets your comment posted?
• Staying on topic
• Keeping your comment to 300 words or less
• Avoiding name-calling
• Addressing your comments to the message rather than the messenger
What gets your comment deleted?
• Personal attacks
• Derogatory remarks
• Name-calling of any sort
• Going off-topic
• Hate speech
• Racially-insensitive comments
• Implying guilt of a subject in a crime story before there is a court verdict
• Posting e-mail addresses
• Posting comments of a commercial nature
• POSTING WITH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
• Linking multiple comments together with "to be continued..." to get around the 300 word limit.
The fine print
- Comments are either approved or denied. We do not edit comments.
- You are welcome to modify and resubmit a denied comment.
- Comments may take several hours to be posted.
- Comments posted are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NapaValleyRegister.com, its employees or its parent company.
- Do you have information on a story? Please go to our
virtual newsroom to send us a news tip.
- If you feel a posted comment has violated our guidelines, please contact
online@napanews.com or add a comment indicating you have an issue and our moderators will review the comment in question.
lousy naive ignorant napan wrote on Apr 27, 2008 9:50 AM:
109823 wrote on Apr 28, 2008 3:44 PM: