Trial date set for Cathedral City driver accused of deadly hit-and-run crash

A trial date was set today for a 35-year-old man accused of fatally hitting an elderly man with a vehicle in Cathedral City and fleeing the scene.

Heber Alexander Henriquez of Cathedral City was also charged with a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license, according to court records.

Henriquez's trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 19, 2025 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Cathedral City Fire Department crews responded to a report of a man with head injuries in the 67300 block of Mission Drive shortly after 6:00 a.m. on May 14, 2023, according to the Cathedral City Police Department.   

"Based on evidence located at the scene, it appears the pedestrian was walking on the sidewalk when a vehicle went onto the sidewalk and crashed into the pedestrian and fled the area,'' the department said in a statement.   

Emergency crews found a person with injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle, police said.

Paramedics were unable to revive the victim, a 78-year-old Cathedral City resident, according to police.

The suspected hit-and-run driver was later identified as Henriquez, who was arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, police said.

Alcohol was not a suspected factor, authorities said.