By Andrea Adelson | LB Indy
A candlelight vigil was held this past Monday, Jan. 5, at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz to remember alum Travis Marton, who was killed early New Year’s Day in a hit-and-run collision in Newport Beach.
The driver of a taxi cab with extensive front end damage was arrested in Laguna Beach, suspected in the collision that fatally injured Marton.
More than 200 gathered in the moonlight to share stories about Marton, 23, of Valencia, who graduated from UC Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.
Ronald Lloyd Aviles, 56, of San Clemente, was arrested for felony hit and run and booked at the Newport Beach Police Department, Laguna police Capt. Jason Kravetz said in a statement. Alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor, Kravetz said. Aviles told Laguna police he thought he hit a deer, the police log says.
The circumstances of the collision are still under investigation, but police say Newport dispatchers received a report about a person lying in the road on East Coast Highway at Newport Coast Drive about 3 a.m.
Within 10 minutes of an alert being issued to nearby law enforcement agencies about a hit and run, a Laguna Beach officer came across a yellow cab van in the downtown area, which had extensive front end damage, Kravetz said. The driver was detained for further investigation and Newport officers responded to the scene and ended up arresting him for the hit and run death, Kravetz said.Bail for Aviles was set at $50,000.
Newport Police Investigator Bill Hume seeks the public’s assistance with information about the collision. Contact him at 949-644-3746 or [email protected].
