A 92-year-old man who drove off after hitting and killing a teenager in Vista will not be charged because there isn't enough evidence to show that the driver knew he'd hit a person, according to prosecutors.
15-year-old Lucas Giaconelli was skateboarding on a road near Thibodo Road and Edna Way with friends on Jan. 29, when he was hit by what witnesses described as a white '90s model Camry that left the scene.
The car didn't stop but an elderly man who lives near the crash site approached a sheriff's deputy during a memorial for the boy the next night and asked what was going on.
The deputy explained what had happened. The man told him he had been driving on the street around the time of the accident and thought he had hit a small animal.
Deputies followed the man home and found damage to his car consistent with a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle. Investigators determined that Giaconelli was wearing black and was in an unlighted area when he veered into the car's path.
The teen was transported to Palomar Medical Center, where he later died.
Giaconelli, who friends described as a polite teenager and a great skater, was a freshman at Rancho Buena Vista High School.
