Victorville: Hit-and-Run Driver Who Struck and Killed Dejaun Rene Smith Arrested

On Thursday, August 4^th, police arrested the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a pregnant woman in Victorville on July 29^th. While traveling northbound along Balsam Road in a Ford F-250 pickup truck, 36-year-old Brandon Lee McCollough hit 20-year-old Dejaun Rene Smith, who was pushing her 14-month-old daughter in a stroller along the right shoulder. The impact of the crash killed Smith, who was 5 months pregnant, and injured the baby girl. Although McCollough fled the scene, investigators were able to link him to the vehicle involved in the accident. He faces charges of manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in a death, explains a California personal injury attorney. 

Victorville accounted for 31 of the 590 fatal and injury motor vehicle traffic accidents involving pedestrians in 2009, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. In a study of pedestrian safety in the nation’s metropolitan areas, the group Transportation for America ranked the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area as the 5^th most dangerous in 2011. 

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Dejaun Rene Smith, the woman who was struck and killed by the hit-and-run driver. 

The Los Angeles Times originally reported this pedestrian accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including links to pedestrian advocacy groups and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.