Suspect arrested in 2021 deadly hit-and-run crash in Oakhurst

OAKHURST, Calif. (KFSN) -- A driver was arrested Tuesday for a hit-and-run crash that left a man dead in Oakhurst in 2021.

The crash happened just before midnight on July 7, 2021, on Road 427 near Elliot Drive.

The California Highway Patrol says 20-year-old Eben Hammond was walking home with family members when he was hit from behind by an SUV.

In March 2022, officers followed up on a tip that the SUV belonged to Bryce Yandell.

Through a months-long investigation, officials say they were able to find evidence linking Yandell to the hit-and-run.

Yandell was arrested at the CHP office in Oakhurst.

"I was in a little bit of shock and mixed emotions. I felt excited because there can be an end and justice to the big question mark in our life for almost 2 years," said Matt Sconce, Hammond's Godfather.

He says the news of the arrest also took him back to the day Hammond was killed.

"It was devastating. It shook up our family, it shook up the mountain community. Everybody felt like they had lost their kid," explained Sconce.

Hammond's sister, Channa, also was thinking back to the moments she shared with her brother before he was tragically taken from her.

"Everyone was joking about how we were twins, how we looked a lot alike. That's my very last memory of him before he walked away and me begging him not to go. It's like in my heart, I knew," recalled Channa.

The family says they're thankful for the community's support and everyone's help in fighting for justice.

"It really matters to me, and I know it mattered to all the others in his family, that people didn't just forget about him. People cared, and people shared the information. People fought for justice for him," said Sconce.

For news updates, follow Nic Garcia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.