The man accused of striking and killing a Nogales, Ariz., firefighter last month with his pickup truck turned himself in to police Friday night.
Police named Jesus Xavier Zepeda, 39, as a suspect in connection with the death of Sterling Lytle, 25, on Friday afternoon.
Tucson police responded to a home Friday evening in the 2200 block of North Shannon Road after receiving a report of the suspect's pickup truck at the residence, according to a Tucson Police Department news release.
Zepeda turned himself after police found the truck.
Lytle was struck in a parking lot in the 1600 block of North Alvernon Way on June 28.
He was a passenger in a vehicle headed north on Alvernon when a pickup truck pulled behind the vehicle and began honking the horn and flashing its lights.
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Lytle got out of the vehicle and was hit by the truck, which fled.
Lytle was taken to the hospital and was taken off life support July 3. His funeral was July 9.
Lytle had been with the Nogales Fire Department since November, department officials said.
He graduated from Catalina High Magnet School and earned an emergency medical technician certificate from Pima Community College in 2007.
He also volunteered with the Helmet Peak Volunteer Fire Department in Sahuarita for four years as a firefighter and training captain.
"It was very evident to me that firefighting was what he was meant to do," Kevin Chaffee, a Tucson Fire Department paramedic out of Station No. 13, said in an interview earlier this month.
Chaffee was a friend and mentor who encouraged Lytle to volunteer with Helmet Peak.
"He had that strong desire to help people. He had the most integrity of any kid that age I ever met. He really impressed me and it made me want to help him attain his goals," Chaffee said.
Contact reporter Jamar Younger at jyounger@azstarnet.com or 573-4115.
