Teen to receive citation in accident

CLOVIS — A 16-year-old boy involved in a pedestrian fatal last  year will receive a traffic citation for failing to exercise due care, District Attorney Andrea Reeb said last week.

The teen was driving a pickup that hit Martha Castillo, 68, as she crossed Thornton Street about 8:45 p.m. on Aug. 29, police said.

Castillo died at the scene of the accident.

 The boy left the scene but returned “within a very few minutes,” his attorney, Dan Lindsey has said. “He thought he might have hit an animal. He wasn’t sure what he hit.”

Investigators spent five months looking into the incident and Reeb said evidence did not warrant a more serious criminal charge than the due-care citation, which includes a fine.

Reeb said the due-care statute means “the driver should exercise due care in avoiding any collision.”

Lindsey did not respond to questions about the prosecutor’s decision. Castillo family members also did not respond to requests for comment.