UPDATED: Charges Expected Against Man, 34, Suspected in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash

INDIO (CNS) – A 34-year-old man suspected of fatally striking an elderly man in Cathedral City and leaving the scene pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder.

Heber Alexander Henriquez of Cathedral City also pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license on Wednesday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court records.

Crews from the Cathedral City Fire Department responded to a report of a man on the ground with head injuries in the 67300 block of Mission Drive at around 6:10 a.m. Sunday, according to Sgt. Barnett of 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,” Barnett said in a statement.

When fire department personnel arrived to the scene, they saw a person with injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle. The victim was identified as a 78-year-old Cathedral City resident, according to Barnett. The man was in full arrest and paramedics were unable to revive him.

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 on $1 million bail.

The crash remains under investigation, though alcohol was not a suspected factor, Barnett said.

Anyone with information about the death was asked to call Cathedral City police at 760-770-0300.

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