Family Turns In Ceres Hit-And-Run Suspect

CERES (CBS13) – A Ceres man is facing felony hit-and-run charges after a crash that left several people – including two young brothers – injured Thursday night.

The incident happened a little after 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Service and Mitchell roads.

Ceres police say officers who responded to the scene found that two cars had been involved in a crash. In one car, a Nissan, were five people – three adults and two boys aged 8 and 9. The three adults were taken to the hospital while the boys were airlifted to the UC Davis Medical Center.

Officers say the boys had serious, deep lacerations to their midsections.

The other car, a Honda, was empty by the time officers arrived. Witnesses told officers they had seen the driver take off running.

A wallet that was found in the Honda helped officers identify the driver as 42-year-old Ceres resident Joe Patrick Sandoval.

Officers visited Sandoval's home that night but he wasn't home. However, Friday morning, his family called police to tell them that Sandoval had come home and was injured.

Medics and officers were soon at the home again and found Sandoval to be suffering from lacerations consistent with being in a crash.

Sandoval was taken to the hospital in police custody. He's facing felony hit-and-run charges and could be facing more charges as police continue to investigate.