Friends Hold Vigil for Hit and Run Victim

A patch of colorful flowers were strewn across the lawn near the intersection of Golden Lantern and Marina Hills on Friday afternoon, where Carlos Salas died earlier in a fatal accident.

A n alleged hit and run driver in a 1998 black Nissan Maxima is said to have possibly hit and dragged Salas around 3:48 a.m. Friday, according to police.

Gail Krause, spokesperson for Orange County Sheriff's Department, said police are still searching for the driver of the car found about one quarter of a mile from the scene.

"The car is a black 1998 Nissan Maxima that is registered to a Dana Point resident," she said. "However, we don't know if the owner is the person who was driving the car at the time. Investigators did find physical evidence on the car that coincides with what they found at the scene. It does appear to be a hit and run accident and the man was dragged before he was left."

Friends were leaving flowers, bouquets, cases of beer, and lighting candles in his honor.

John said: "He was a great guy full of life, and friendly."

He said he has known him for years, and that Salas lives only 400 feet from where the accident happened.

"He was coming home from a  friend's house," he said when asked what Salas was doing in the area at such an early hour. 

Several other friends rounded the corner on the adjoining sidewalk, and past where the vigil was being held, on skateboards, another way of paying tribute to their late friend.

Salas later died of injuries at a local hospital, according to Lt. Jim England of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. There was a skateboard found near the scene, he added.

Anyone with information on the crash, or the driver, is asked to contact investigators at 949-425-1860.