Phelan Hit-and-Run Case Closes as Elderly Hesperia Suspect's Suicide Ends Prosecution

A San Bernardino County judge dismissed the criminal case against a 79-year-old Hesperia man accused of striking and killing a 65-year-old Phelan woman with his SUV and fleeing the scene, after prosecutors confirmed the suspect had died by suicide months earlier. Roosevelt Madison Garrett had been facing felony vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run charges in the September 2024 death of Cynthia Moss, but his death in May 2026 meant the case would never reach a jury.

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Ulsh presided over the August 14 hearing in the Victorville District where the case was formally dismissed, according to Victor Valley News. Court minute orders confirmed Garrett had failed to appear at his scheduled arraignment because he was dead. The dismissal formally terminated three pending filings: the felony vehicular manslaughter charge with gross negligence, the felony hit-and-run charge resulting in death or permanent injury, and a special allegation that Garrett fled the scene.

The court also exonerated a $60,000 surety bond that Garrett had posted on September 19, 2024, to secure his pretrial release, per the same outlet's report. Garrett was found dead at his Hesperia home on May 5, 2026, according to the Victorville Daily Press, and his death was ruled a suicide.

A Deadly Night on Phelan Road

The collision that killed Moss happened at about 7:45 p.m. on September 16, 2024, at the intersection of Phelan and Buttemere roads, per the Daily Press. Moss, a 65-year-old Phelan resident, was walking south across Phelan Road when she was hit by an eastbound Kia Sportage SUV. Officials did not locate the involved vehicle or driver that night, despite searching the area.

According to the Daily Press, the suspect vehicle pulled over to the south shoulder east of the point of impact before fleeing. Garrett was accused of untangling Moss's walker from his SUV, removing it from the vehicle, and discarding it before driving away. Emergency responders shut down both lanes of Phelan Road between Oxford Road and Buttemere Road to manage the scene and requested air operations, according to the Khorshidi Law Firm.

Suspect Turned Himself In, Then Posted Bail

Investigators identified Garrett as a suspect in the days that followed, and he arrived at the California Highway Patrol's Victorville office on September 17, 2024, where he attempted to report a crash from the previous day, per the Daily Press. He was booked into the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, according to Pain In The Pass. Garrett posted bail the day after his arrest and was released from custody pending legal proceedings, ahead of an arraignment hearing that had been scheduled for August 14, 2026 — a date that instead became the day his case was dismissed.

What the Charges Would Have Meant

Garrett had been charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run causing death. Under California Penal Code Section 192(c)(1), gross negligence vehicular manslaughter is a felony punishable by two, four, or six years in state prison, according to the Law Offices of David A. Stein. Separately, leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death under Vehicle Code Section 20001 is a wobbler offense that, when charged as a felony, carries up to four years in prison and fines up to $10,000, per Eisner Gorin LLP. California law requires drivers to stop and render aid at the scene of a crash regardless of fault.

None of those penalties will ever be applied in Garrett's case. Under the legal doctrine of abatement ab initio, when a criminal defendant dies before a final court judgment, the pending prosecution must be dismissed, according to Criminal Legal News. That doctrine effectively erases both the court proceedings and the underlying charges, leaving Moss's family without a trial or a verdict.

A High Desert Pattern of Pedestrian Deaths

Moss's death also fits into a troubling pattern across San Bernardino County. In 2023, the county recorded 120 pedestrian traffic deaths, the second-highest total of any California county behind Los Angeles County, according to J&Y Law. Statewide data compiled by SafeTREC shows that 51% of fatal pedestrian accidents in California happen after dark between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. — a window that matches the roughly 7:45 p.m. timing of the crash that killed Moss on Phelan Road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 7,080 pedestrians were killed and more than 71,000 were injured nationwide in 2024.