Authorities arrest driver in hit-and-run

Authorities have arrested a man who they say was the driver of a truck that hit and seriously injured a woman Sept. 22 in the 100 block of Encinitas Boulevard and fled.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s North Coastal Station, with the help of the public, identified 38-year-old Justin Parker of Encinitas as the driver.

A search warrant was served to Parker’s home, and “numerous items of evidence” were recovered, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Department. Deputies also found two large-capacity rifle magazines in his house.

Another search warrant was served at a custom automotive shop in Riverside, where Parker’s truck, a white Ford F-150 pickup, was located, authorities said. The vehicle had already been repaired but additional evidence was located.

Parker walked into the North Coastal Sheriff’s station Oct. 5 at about 6:30 p.m. to turn himself in, according to the Sheriff’s Department. He was arrested and booked at the Vista Detention Facility for hit-and-run with serious bodily injury and possession of a large-capacity magazine.

A bail enhancement was requested for Parker. His bail was set at $250,000, and he was ultimately bailed out at 1 a.m. Oct. 6, according to the news release.

Authorities said Parker ran down Ashley Mullins Lane, 33, of Oceanside, while she was walking across Encinitas Boulevard toward a train station.

Lane was crossing mid-block near South Coast Highway 101 about 7:30 p.m. when she was struck by the westbound pickup. Witnesses told authorities the driver stopped, got out of his truck to look, and told those nearby that the woman appeared to be OK. Then he drove off.

Lane has remained at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where she was put in a medically-induced coma with critical spine, head, pelvic and other injuries. Her father, Roger Mullins of Encinitas, said in an interview that his daughter also suffered a ruptured spleen, a stroke, and is paralyzed on her left side.

He said she was leaving work, at Lazy Acres market, and heading home when she was hit by the truck. She has two daughters, ages 12 and 13.

Family members have set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for Lane’s medical bills. Her father said she had just lost her Medi-Cal insurance and had not yet submitted papers to join her employer’s health plan.

San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Pauline Repard contributed to this report.