Mother Turns Son in as Suspect in Fatal Hit-and-Run

The mother of a Dallas County man says her son is the suspect in a hit-and-run crash that left a 33-year-old man dead.

Hugo Soria, 33, was killed in a hit-and-run over the weekend near U.S. Highway 175 and Masters Drive. His body was found on Sunday, a day and a half after he left his East Dallas home to take a walk and clear his head.

His wife, Dara, spoke to NBC 5 and other media outlets on Wednesday, pleading for the public to help police find the driver that failed to stop.

"Nothing is going to bring back my husband, nothing. But that person needs to be punished for what he did," Soria said.

On Thursday, NBC 5 confirmed with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department that a suspect is in custody for the hit-and-run crash -- and that he was turned in by his mother.

Jose Alberto Guerra-Orta, 29, was processed by Dallas County Jail officials Thursday morning and will be charged with leaving the scene of an crash/causing death.

Guerra-Orta was turned in by his mother at about midnight Thursday at the Dallas Police Department southeast substation for the weekend hit-and-run accident.. His mother said she identified him after seeing coverage on TV and hearing the description of the vehicle involved in the crash.

Dallas police transferred Guerra-Orta to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, which is working the case. Sheriff's deputies impounded a car driven by Guerra-Orta they said matched the description of the vehicle that was involved in the crash.

Two deputies then went to Guerra-Orta’s apartment where they found the blue 2001 Honda Prelude.  The damage of the vehicle was consistent with that of striking a pedestrian. It also matched the parts left at the scene. The vehicle was seized.

Guerra-Orta was arraigned around 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Guerra-Orta faces a felony charge for accident involving injury/death and is currently in custody at the Dallas County jail. His bond is set at $50,000.

NBC 5 first told Dara Soria about the arrest.  She’s relieved Guerra-Orta came forward, but says it wasn’t soon enough to save her husband.  Soria wants justice for Hugo and insists Guerra-Orta should face steeper charges.  Soria says he should have called for help on Sunday.

The sheriff’s department tells NBC5 that they do not have additional information why Guerra-Orta didn’t stop to help or what he may have been doing behind the wheel.

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NBC 5's Kendra Lyn contributed to this report.

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