Man pleads guilty to deadly Palm Springs hit and run, sentenced 90 days jail & 2 years probation
A man pled guilty today to a hit-and-run that caused the death of a 39-year-old man in Palm Springs and was sentenced to 90 days of county jail and two years of formal probation.
Chad Steinmetz, 42, pleaded guilty Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count of hit-and-run causing death or injury, according to court records.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gregory Olson then sentenced him to 90 days of county jail and two years of formal probation, according to Riverside County District Attorney's office spokesman John Hall.
The fatal hit-and-run occurred about 6:40 a.m. on May 27, 2022, near East Palm Canyon and South Broadmoor drives, where a red Porsche 911 Carrera struck Jessie Fleury of San Jacinto and a shopping cart, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. The victim was subsequently left lying on a dirt shoulder of the roadway, where he was later pronounced dead.
The day of the crash, police asked for the public's help to find the suspect vehicle, which had front-end damage.
According to a declaration in support of Steinmetz's arrest filed by the PSPD, Steinmetz took his vehicle to a body shop the following morning to get it fixed and then drove past the location of the collision as officers continued investigating.
Steinmetz was at bars the night of the collision and left around 2 a.m., shortly before the collision, police wrote. Based on his electronic records, Steinmetz was also following articles about the collision and the investigation.
On June 6, 2022, officers found a vehicle fitting the description, but the registered owner was not cooperating with investigators, according to police.
"The response from the community was remarkable, as several tips were provided that helped the investigators with the case,'' Palm Springs police said in a statement. "Subsequently, the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run was located at a collision repair center in Cathedral City, allowing the identification of the driver (Steinmetz)."
Steinmetz was arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on May 31, 2023, but he posted $75,000 bail and was released the same day, according to inmate records.
