San Rafael, CA – On Wednesday, 09/16/2020, San Rafael Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) arrested Omar Alexander Diaz-Uribe, a 47-year-old Novato resident.  Diaz-Uribe was involved in a felony injury hit-and-run vehicle collision that occurred on Saturday, 09/12/2020, in downtown San Rafael.

On Saturday, 09/12/2020, at 10:56 AM, a white Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup truck, driven by Diaz-Uribe, collided with a motorcyclist at the intersection of Second Street and Hetherton Street.  The collision injured the motorcyclist, and Diaz-Uribe fled the scene. 

The investigation was handled by MAIT Investigators who obtained video footage of the crash from several video surveillance cameras that were in the area of the intersection.  Using the San Rafael Police Department’s Surveillance Camera Registry, investigators were able to backtrack where the vehicle came from and where it headed after it fled the scene of the collision.

It was determined that the suspect vehicle was traveling eastbound on Second Street, approaching the intersection with Hetherton Street.  The suspect vehicle was in the third lane over from the left, which is a forward direction only lane.  The suspect vehicle drove into the intersection and decided to make a right turn, without signaling, toward the southbound US-101 on-ramp. 

Simultaneously, a motorcyclist in the fourth lane from the left, and to the right of the suspect vehicle, was driving in a forward and right turn optional lane.  The motorcycle went into the intersection to continue eastbound toward Irwin Street.

The suspect vehicle crossed right into the path of the motorcycle. The right front corner of the suspect vehicle collided with the left side of the motorcyclist.  The force of the crash caused the motorcyclist to lose control.  The motorcyclist then collided with a steel safety barrier on the southeast corner of the intersection.  The motorcyclist was ejected onto the ground after hitting the safety barrier.

Uribe slowed down, and it appeared that he was preparing to stop as the suspect vehicle’s brake lights were briefly illuminated.  However, the truck continued to drive east on Second Street slowly and fled the scene.

The motorcyclist was transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Before better quality video was obtained, MAIT Investigators ran a list of vehicles that matched the description of the suspect vehicle.  Investigators could discern just a few of the letters and numbers in the barely visible license plate and narrowed the list further.   During the investigation, it was discovered that one of the potential vehicles had been previously stopped by an SRPD Officer and had body-worn camera footage of the traffic stop.  Investigators then found the vehicle in Sausalito, where they found it had matching body damage.

Additional video surveillance was located that helped confirm the license plate and provided a view of the driver.  Officers returned to where the vehicle had been found in Sausalito and made contact with Diaz-Uribe.  Diaz-Uribe acknowledged being involved in the collision and was arrested.

Diaz-Uribe was booked into the Marin County Jail for felony injury hit-and-run, being an unlicensed driver, no insurance, and making an improper turn at an intersection.  The case was forwarded to the Marin County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.