Culpeper man behind bars for fatal hit and run incident in Fauquier

FAUQUIER CO. – A Culpeper County man is now behind bars on a charge of felony hit-and-run from a December crash in Fauquier County that killed one person and seriously injured another. A tip led the Town of Culpeper Police to the whereabouts of Diego Vazquez Mendoza, 32, of Culpeper, early Wednesday (Jan. 9) morning. Mendoza was taken into custody without incident and is being held without bond at the Fauquier County Adult Detention Center.

State Trooper T.B. Ralls is investigating the incident, which occurred at 6:16 p.m. Dec. 23, 2012, on Route 17 less than a mile south of Route 28. A 2004 Scion was traveling south in the right lane of Route 17 when it was a rear-ended by a green, Ford-150 pickup truck. The impact pushed the Scion into a southbound 2010 Honda. Then the Scion and the pickup truck ran off the right side of the road together.

The driver of the pickup truck, Mendoza, fled on foot from the scene before troopers could arrive.

The driver of the Scion, Douglas Rabren, 58, of Stafford, Va., died at the scene. The passenger, Debra Rabren, 59, of Stafford, was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The driver of the Honda was not injured in the crash.

The incident remains under investigation.