Three months after a driver struck and killed a 64-year-old Oakland man walking near the Ashby BART station, authorities have charged that driver with leaving the scene of the fatal crash, according to court papers.
The single felony count against 32-year-old Ana Buitrago was filed Wednesday by the Alameda County district attorney’s office, according to court papers. Berkeleyside has been asking for updates about the incident since it happened, but authorities have previously declined to share information due to the ongoing investigation.
Buitrago went into the Berkeley Police Department at about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, nearly 24 hours after Donald Johnson was pronounced dead on Adeline Street alongside Ashby BART near Ashby Avenue, according to court documents. She told police that she was responsible for the hit-and-run that killed Johnson, according to BPD.
Police wrote in court papers that they found damage to Buitrago’s vehicle “consistent with” the fatal crash, along with surveillance footage that showed her arriving at her home on 63rd Street shortly after it took place.
According to BPD traffic data, police determined that speed was the primary collision factor in the fatal hit-and-run collision.
Buitrago is not in custody and a booking photograph was not available Thursday because she was never arrested in connection with the crash.
Her next hearing date was not available as of publication time.
One other pedestrian was killed in Berkeley in 2019 during a collision with a vehicle, according to BPD data. Crista Carlson, 70, of Emeryville died about two weeks after a driver struck her at Sacramento and Fairview streets in late May.
