A portion of Hunt Highway in the San Tan Valley area was shut down for hours while the Pinal County Sheriff's Office investigated a deadly hit-and-run accident involving a Johnson Utilities employee on Thursday.
PCSO was previously only describing the situation as an "incident" and that they were unable to release more information but later confirmed that a pedestrian was killed during a hit-and-run crash.
According to a PCSO spokesperson, two people called the sheriff's office around 7 a.m. Thursday after finding a body alongside Hunt Highway near Johnson Ranch Boulevard. One of the callers is a Johnson Utilities employee.
Deputies have identified the woman killed in the incident as 24-year-old Des Ray S. Lara of Florence, Arizona.
Through evidence collected during the investigation, authorities determined that the driver was a Johnson Utilities employee who was driving a company car at the time of the accident, officials said. After the crash, the employee texted his supervisor claiming he hit a barricade and the car was damaged.
A Pinal County Sheriff spokesperson said the suspect, 42-year-old Marcigtan Winfrey of San Tan Valley, turned himself in to PCSO investigators Friday night. He is being charged with leaving the scene of a deadly crash.
Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call PCSO at 520-866-5111.
Johnson Utilities is cooperating with the investigation. No additional information was immediately available.
