Suspect in SLO hit-and-run that injured pedestrian is arrested

Police on Thursday arrested a Cayucos man on suspicion of hitting a pedestrian with his car in San Luis Obispo on Tuesday evening and driving off before officers arrived.

The alleged victim of the hit-and-run suffered undisclosed injuries but did not need to be hospitalized.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department said in a news release that at about 5:05 p.m. Tuesday, dispatchers received a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Higuera and High streets.

When officers arrived, the driver had already fled the scene, and the pedestrian was treated at the scene by fire department personnel.

A witness reportedly provided a cell phone photo of the vehicle that included a license plate number, and members of the Police Department’s traffic team reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business, according to the release.

The owner of the vehicle, Anthony Mario Walsh, 34, was located at his Cayucos home, and an inspection of his vehicle allegedly found damage where the witness had described the car hitting the alleged victim. Walsh arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run resulting in injury and booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail.

As of Friday afternoon, he remained in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Despite previous media reports, police Lt. Bill Proll said Friday the department has no evidence Walsh attempted to bribe the pedestrian before he fled the scene.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Suspect in SLO hit-and-run that injured pedestrian is arrested."