KTLA

Thousand Oaks woman arrested in fatal hit-and-run

A Ventura County Sheriff's Office patrol car in a file photo (VCSO)

A Thousand Oaks woman faces a hit-and-run charge after she allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian and fled the scene last month.

Just after 6 a.m. on Dec. 9, Robert Paul Quiroz Jr. was found unresponsive near the intersection of Janss Road and Windsor Drive, and investigators “located evidence that suggested the pedestrian was struck by a vehicle just east of the intersection,” the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.


Quiroz did not survive his injuries.

On New Year’s Eve, a deputy spotted the suspect vehicle in Thousand Oaks, and “evidence was located that tied the vehicle to the crime,” authorities said.

Tracy Nadine Smith, 51, was identified as the driver and arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a collision causing injury or death, the VCSO said.

Jail records show she was released on her own recognizance on Jan. 3, and she is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Jan. 12.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Senior Deputy Marcos Moreno at 805-947-8289 or Marcos.Moreno@ventura.org.