Alleged Driver Not Yet Charged in PCH Hit-and-Run Cyclist Fatality

• City of Malibu Staffer Remains Out on Bail in Incident

BY BILL KOENEKER

Malibu city employee Robert S. Sanchez, the man accused in a fatal hit and run last week has not yet been charged, according to authorities.
“It is still at Lost Hills. They are still investigating it,” said a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s spokesperson in Malibu. “We will get it in the next couple of weeks.”
Sanchez has been released on $100,000 bail, according to a spokesperson for the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Sanchez is accused of hitting two bicyclists who were riding on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while participating in an annual organized ride.
Both were injured, one fatally, after Sanchez, who was allegedly driving under the influence, struck the pair. He allegedly fled the scene of the accident and was later picked up and taken into custody, according to authorities.
Sanchez, 30, of Oxnard, who is employed by the City of Malibu as a records clerk, was reportedly driving along the 34000 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Nicholas Canyon at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday when he allegedly crossed over the fog line and struck Rodrigo “Rod” Armas, 45, of Tehachapi, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer, who died at the scene.
The second person hit was Armas’ son Christian, 14, who suffered leg injuries. The injured boy was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he had been listed in stable condition with numerous broken bones before being released.
Armas is survived by his wife Shelly, his son and his two daughters, ages 9 and 12, according to a sheriff’s department press release.
The two cyclists were participants in an annual event sponsored by a Los Angeles bicycling club and were completing the ride when the incident happened, according to a sheriff’s department report. The pair were reportedly equipped with regulation lighting and adhered to the rules for night cycling.
Authorities allege Sanchez left the scene of the accident and continued along PCH for a short distance, before he abandoned his vehicle and hid in the brush. Sanchez was found about two hours later by deputies, who arrested him and took him into custody. The driver could be charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, and felony hit and run.
City Manager Jim Thorsen verified that Sanchez works at Malibu City Hall and described his position as administrative assistant. When asked about Sanchez’s employment status given the recent circumstances, Thorsen replied, “He is still employed by the city.”