By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man is accused of fleeing the scene after running over and killing a toddler late Sunday night in west Phoenix.
Read more PCSD releases statement after three YouTubers arrested near Nancy Guthrie’s home
Shortly before 9 p.m., Phoenix police were called to the crash near 31st Avenue and Buckeye Road.
Once police arrived, they found 16-month-old Lupe Morales had been hit by a car and was in critical condition. He was rushed to the hospital but later died.
Police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Carlos Rojas Mora. Prosecutors described Mora as the child’s neighbor and said he is a Mexican national.
Authorities said no one was watching Lupe when he wandered into the street and was hit by the car. Investigators said Mora then got into another vehicle and drove away.
Mora was later found and booked into the Maricopa County jail on a charge of hit-and-run involving death.
He appeared in front of a judge on Monday afternoon.
“I lost my one-year-old son, and I’ll never be able to get him back,” the child’s mother said during Mora’s initial court appearance. “Instead of him staying on scene and taking accountability for his actions, he fled like a coward. I hope you guys do not release this man. He is not even a man, he’s a monster.”
The child’s father also addressed the court.
“It just hurts that he just left them there to die without helping us and trying to flee and I just want justice for my son,” he said.
Read more Family seeks answers after man found dead in van outside Mesa care facility
Prosecutors allege Mora later asked a friend to drive him to Mexico.
Mora’s friend reportedly called Goodyear police to turn him in and dropped him off in the area of 43rd Avenue and Missouri Avenue.
Court records say Mora ended up at another friend’s house and was taken into custody early Monday morning after a traffic stop where he was a backseat passenger.
After his arrest, court documents say Mora told police he ran because he knew the toddler’s father had a gun and feared the father would hurt him. Mora also reportedly claimed he was on his way to the police station when his friend was pulled over, and he was taken into custody.
“I can’t stress enough if you think that you hit someone stop your vehicle, double check and just call police,” said Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez of Phoenix police. “We will come, we will respond, we will investigate and we’re here to hear both sides of the story and figure out what happened.”
Mora is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.