THE suspect in a fatal 2017 hit-and-run in Whittier who fled the United States three years ago arrived in Southern California on Thursday, October 29 after being extradited from Australia.
Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, a former Whittier resident who was born in the Philippines, was identified by the city’s Police Department as the driver of the white Lexus sedan. She currently faces charges of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.
“On Monday, January 30th, 2017, the Whittier Police Department responded to a hit-and-run vehicle versus bicyclist traffic collision in the area of Calmada Ave and Flomar Drive. A female driver, driving a white Lexus sedan struck the bicyclist, dragging him under the car for a long distance, and then fled the scene. The bicyclist, Agustin Rodriguez Jr., age 46, succumbed to his injuries,” the Whittier Police Department said in a statement on Thursday, October 29.
Reyes, a 35-year-old accountant, fled to Hong Kong after the collision, prompting the authorities to issue an international arrest warrant for her.
In 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found Reyes living in Australia, and through cooperation with Australian law enforcement authorities, she was taken into custody.
“A lengthy extradition proceeding has been in the works for over a year, and yesterday, Reyes was transferred to the custody of the United States Marshals in Australia. She was flown to the United States and landed this morning at the Van Nuys airport,” the Whittier Police said.
Upon arrival, Reyes was transferred to the custody of the Whittier Police Department.
The fugitive investigation and the successful return of Chan Reyes was the result of a collaborative international effort among the Whittier Police Department; the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigations Los Angeles Field Office: the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs; the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles; the Australian Federal Police; the United States Embassy in Canberra, Australia; the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Canberra, Australia; the United States Marshals Service in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Airport Police, Van Nuys. (Ritchel Mendiola/AJPress)
