News - Local

Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2008

Judge, license plate left in driver’s wake

Perpetrator crashes into a retired judge, leaves plate at the scene; police later arrest suspect Mateo Morales

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A San Luis Obispo man was arrested after a double hit-and-run in San Luis Obispo on Monday afternoon that involved the suspect allegedly speeding away from one crash near Garden and Pismo streets only to cause and then flee from a second one at Garden and Buchon streets.

In the second wreck, a Toyota Prius was hit with such force that it flipped over and landed on top of another car.

“I was driving along, and this car appeared out of nowhere and flipped me over,” said retired San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Donald Umhofer, who was driving the Prius. He received minor injuries. His wife, a passenger, was unharmed.

Mateo Morales, 20, was arrested after an investigation. He was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and hit and run.

The incidents happened about 5 p. m. After hitting one vehicle while headed south on Garden, a speeding Honda Accord, allegedly driven by Morales, continued on Garden to Buchon.

Umhofer’s Prius, traveling west on Buchon, was hit, flipped over and landed atop the hood of a Mazda Protégé being driven east on Buchon.

The hit-and-run driver’s license plate was reportedly left behind at the scene of one of the crashes, giving a clue to the driver’s identity.

Umhofer, who still serves on temporary assignments for the California Judicial Commission, is serving temporarily as a sitting judge in Grover Beach.

The side airbags on his Prius deployed during the crash. Umhofer said he was very sad to see the damage to his 2005 Prius.

There were no injuries to the drivers or passengers of the other two vehicles, according to police.