A driver was arrested on a hit-and-run charge in connection with a crash that left a 12-year-old boy seriously injured in El Cajon.
The El Cajon Police Department said investigators were able to link Dani Korkis, 35, to the crash in the 300 block of Ballantyne Street thanks to debris left at the scene and video obtained from license plate reader cameras in the area.
The information led police to a BMW X5 with front-end damage that was parked at a business in Lakeside. Dani Korkis was subsequently arrested as the suspected driver at the time of the crash Wednesday night, police said.
The unidentified 12-year-old boy was found in the roadway around 8 p.m. with major head trauma, El Cajon police said. He remained in the hospital Friday, recovering from injuries that initially left him in critical condition.
Police say the boy was at the El Cajon City Park with other kids before walking up the street toward the intersection. He crossed Ballantyne mid-block when a vehicle heading northbound struck him.
NBC 7 was told the boy is not a student at Cajon Valley Middle School.
Witnesses described the hit-and-run suspect’s vehicle as a white or silver SUV with damage on the front end, according to the department.
“Based on debris in the roadway, we believe that the vehicle would have front-end damage to the driver’s side headlight,” a police spokesperson said ahead of the arrest.
NBC 7 found out through the Secretary of State’s public database on businesses that Dani Korkis was listed as the owner of Lakeside Smoke Shop until Oct. 31 of last year. An NBC 7 crew went to the shop — which is fewer than 5 miles away from where the crash happened — and spoke with two people working behind the counter. They say Korkis’ brother owns the shop.
After checking the database again, NBC 7 found that a filing as of Friday lists Ivan Korkis as the owner. NBC 7 asked for information about Dani Korkis and the crash, as well as if the BMW that police say was found at a Lakeside business was found at the smoke shop. A woman said they won’t be commenting and kicked the crew off their property.
Dani Korkis is being held at San Diego Central Jail on $50,000 bail, awaiting to appear in court on a felony hit-and-run charge.
The license plate reader cameras used in the arrest have been under scrutiny in recent months, and the city of El Cajon is facing a lawsuit from the California Attorney General’s office over how data is shared.
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