Hit and Run Driver Pleads Guilty in Teen's Death

The driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident will spend a year in jail for his role in the death of an Escondido teenager.

A minivan and a black Lexus sedan collided near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Elmwood Street at about 2 a.m. July 3, causing the minivan to catch on fire.

The driver of the minivan, Miguel Rojas, 18, was headed to pick up his brother at his aunt's house at the time of the crash.

Rojas died of his injuries. The teenager was trying to make a fresh start, working hard at his construction job for his infant son according to relatives.

Police said the driver of the Lexus and an unspecified number of passengers fled the scene on foot.

Later that day, Juan Carlos Carrillo, 20, turned himself in to authorities.

Carrillo and two passengers were heading eastbound in the Lexus when Rojas' minivan made a left turn in front of the Lexus police said.

On Wednesday, Carrillo pleaded guilty to one felony charge of hit-and-run with death according to the North County Times.

He will be sentenced Nov. 3 to a year in jail.