Man Arrested in Salinas Hit-and-Run

Salinas police have arrested Jose Cordova, 20, in connection with a hit-and-run that seriously injured a 14-year-old girl on Sunday.

At 8:40 p.m. on Sunday police responded to reports that a white compact sedan had hit a pedestrian in the crosswalk of North Main Street and Bernal Drive and then left the scene, police said.

Cordova was arrested Monday after he admitted to hitting the 14-year-old girl and fleeing the scene, police said.

The girl suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a Bay Area trauma center for treatment. Updates about her condition were not available from police Monday afternoon.

Officers arrested Cordova after a witness reported seeing him driving a visibly damaged, four-door Mitsubishi Mirage in the 300 block of California Street, police said.

The vehicle driven by Cordova belonged to the suspect's cousin who had reported it stolen at Cordova's request after Cordova called her and said he had been involved in a collision, according to police.

The witness reportedly noticed the vehicle because of obvious damage to its hood, windshield and back window, police said.