Two cyclists were killed and two others were injured after a driver collided with a group riding in Montclair late Saturday, then fled the scene. Police later arrested Valentin Alberto Rodriguez, 38, after witnesses helped lead investigators to his home near the crash site.
The collision happened at about 10:39 p.m. Saturday on Kingsley Street, where a group of about 30 cyclists was riding east when a vehicle headed in the opposite direction struck several of them. One rider was pronounced dead at the scene. Another died later at a hospital, while a third remained hospitalized in stable condition after major injuries and a fourth declined further medical treatment after suffering a minor head laceration.
Rodriguez was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence, causing injury or death, felony hit-and-run, gross vehicular manslaughter and other crimes. Authorities did not immediately identify the victims. The ride was organized by the cyclists themselves and was not sponsored by the city, but the scale of the response and the charges reflect how fast a late-night outing can turn into a fatal roadway disaster.
The unanswered piece is the one investigators now have to build around: what caused the driver to cross into the riders before leaving them behind. Until that is established, the case will turn on the collision itself, the witness accounts and the evidence police say linked Rodriguez to the crash.
