College goalie suspect in Lake Tahoe fatal hit-and-run crash

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A 20-year-old suspect arrested in a hit-and-run accident that killed an elderly man at South Lake Tahoe is the starting goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team at Lake Tahoe Community College.

College President Jeff DeFranco said in a statement Monday that Marlon Cruz is a full-time student at the school and a sophomore member of its soccer team. The team’s web site says he’s from Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Police say a man in his 70s was walking across Lake Tahoe Boulevard at about 8 p.m. Sunday when he was struck by a car that fled the scene. They say Cruz went to the South Lake Tahoe police station at about 12:30 a.m. Monday and told officers he may have been involved in an accident.

DeFranco says school officials want to express their deep condolences to the victim’s loved ones. He says that while they don’t fully know the circumstances involved, leaving the scene of an accident is never the right decision. He says they are relieved that Cruz decided to turn himself in.