North Las Vegas police arrest man accused of deadly hit-and-run

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — North Las Vegas police arrested a man accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian with his vehicle before driving away.

At around 1:40 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, officers with the North Las Vegas Police Department were called to the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Craig Road after a hit-and-run collision involving a white van and a pedestrian.

Preliminary investigation showed the van was driving east on Craig Road approaching Martin Luther King Boulevard while a pedestrian crossed inside a marked crosswalk. The van’s front end hit the pedestrian.

Police said it was unknown who had the light.

According to a release, the driver exited the van and walked toward the pedestrian before re-entering the van and driving east on Craig Road.

The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, police were notified that he succumbed to his injuries and hospital staff pronounced him dead. His identity will be released by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

On Tuesday morning, the NLVPD released photos of the van involved hoping someone from the public could help identify the vehicle or the person driving. At around 6 p.m., a person called to report they saw the vehicle on the news and recognized it in the 1900 block of Double Delight Avenue, near Clayton Street and Alexander Road.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m., officers with the NLVPD searched the area and located an unoccupied white van with no license plate and “significant” front end damage in the 4000 block of Beauty Secret Drive.

A witness told police that the van was parked there by a man in a bucket style hat and all gray clothing. Officers searching the area located a man, identified as Herbert Charles Ridge, 49, who matched the description given by the witness.

Ridge was the registered owner of the van and told police he believed he sustained damage when he “hit a dog or something” while driving on Craig Road on Sept. 16.

Officers arrest Ridge and booked him into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center, where he faces charges of duty to stop at the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury, failure to render aid at a vehicle accident, destroying and/or concealing evidence, and driving with a suspended license.

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