A pedestrian was deliberately struck by a speeding vehicle outside Palo Cedro Community Park, and deputies later tracked the suspect. The crash unfolded near 9449 Cedro Lane, close to Calistoga Way, in a stretch of road that runs right along the park's perimeter.
According to FOX40, witnesses identified the driver as 47-year-old Dustin Alan Mingarelli after he allegedly struck an adult male traveling at a high rate of speed before fleeing the scene before deputies arrived.
Deputies issued a be-on-the-lookout alert to area law enforcement agencies.
A Park Just Off Its Biggest Weekend
The crash site sits adjacent to Palo Cedro Community Park. The park hosted the area's inaugural California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association-certified rodeo, according to Redding Buzz, underscoring how central the park is as a community gathering spot in the small Shasta County town.
Suspect Arrested
Deputies secured an arrest warrant for attempted murder and hit-and-run, and the search for Mingarelli stretched far beyond Shasta County. Mingarelli was arrested after the incident.
He was booked into Napa County Jail, where he is now pending extradition back to Shasta County to face charges.
What the Charges Could Mean
Mingarelli faces attempted murder charges, a count that carries steep consequences under California law. Under Penal Code Sections 664 and 187, attempted first-degree murder carries a sentence of life imprisonment in state prison with the possibility of parole, according to Shouse Law Group, while attempted second-degree murder carries five, seven, or nine years in state prison.
The hit-and-run element of the case can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Under California law, felony hit-and-run involving serious or permanent injury or death carries two, three, or four years in state prison, according to the Goldstein Law Group. Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, that liability applies to any driver involved in an injury crash regardless of fault in causing the underlying collision, per Eisner Gorin LLP.
Because Mingarelli was arrested outside the jurisdiction where the alleged crime occurred, he remains in Napa County custody without bail pending formal extradition, a process that governs how California counties transfer suspects back to the jurisdiction holding primary authority over the case, according to Huff Legal. Shasta County deputies are continuing to investigate the crash.
