APD confirms that the hit & run driver that killed 3-year-old Ethan Maldonado is in custody
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas - UPDATE: The Austin Police Department has arrested Ramiro Escalante-Vasquez. Escalante-Vasquez has confessed to driving the truck that hit and killed three-year-old Ethan Hernandez and fleeing the scene of the crash.
He has been charged with Fail to Stop and Render Aid, Second Degree Felony with bond set at $100,000.
APD released the following news release:
An anonymous tip was received that a truck matching the description was seen in a neighborhood in Pflugerville, Texas. The citizen provided a Texas license plate that returned to a white 2001 Chevrolet Silverado truck.
Contact was made with the registered owner of the truck. The owner escorted Austin Police detectives to the truck located in the 1100 block of Walnut Canyon, Pflugerville, Texas. It was confirmed to be the same truck in the video, involved in the fatal crash which occurred May 22, 2016.
The owner provided information of the individual who had custody of the truck on the day of the crash. Contact was made with the individual at an apartment complex in the 1800 block of Burton Drive. The male was identified as Ramiro Escalante- Vasquez, Hispanic Male, 41 years of age. Escalante-Vasquez confessed to driving the truck and hitting three-year-old Ethan Hernandez and fleeing the scene of the crash.
Escalante-Vasquez has been charged with Fail to Stop and Render Aid, 2nd Degree Felony with bond set at $100,000.
The Austin Police Department would like to thank the Austin community for all their tips leading to the arrest of Escalante-Vasquez.
APD confirms that the hit & run driver that killed 3-year-old Ethan Maldonado is in custody.
Ethan was hit and killed while crossing the street in East Austin Sunday, the 22nd of May.
A Central Texas funeral director wrote a powerful message on social media to the person who hit and killed the 3-year-old boy in East Austin. Robert Falcon owns “Affordable Burial and Cremation Service” he said it was a picture of Ethan Maldonado at his funeral that sparked a very powerful emotion in him to help those Ethan left behind.
Falcon and a friend also offered a $5,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) that killed Maldonado.