Police have arrested a man accused of driving an SUV that struck a 21-year-old woman marching at a “No Kings” protest in Riverside. She remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Russell Prentice, 58, of Riverside was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run causing injury, the Riverside Police Department said Tuesday. He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
Candase Wenzel also was arrested Monday. The 39-year-old Riverside woman is accused of having a role in taking the SUV more than 30 miles away to the remote unincorporated area of Phelan in the Mojave Desert, “intentionally destroying and concealing evidence,” the Police Department said.
Prentice is accused of fleeing after driving a black SUV toward a crowd of protesters marching along University Avenue, between Orange and Main streets, and striking the woman about 9:10 p.m. Saturday. Police haven’t identified the victim, but a person who called herself a friend and created a GoFundMe page identified the woman as Alexa Carrasco.
“She was rushed to the hospital” and was in intensive care with “life-threatening injuries,” wrote the friend, Leslie Hernandez. She told The Times on Monday that Carrasco was in critical condition in the intensive care unit but was stable.
“Alexa is loving, outgoing, and full of life,” Hernandez wrote. “She’s the kind of person who always shows up for others, and she was so proud to be out there using her voice. She did not deserve what happened to her.”
Carrasco’s friends told KCAL-TV that she suffered severe skull injuries as well as a cracked rib, punctured lung and broken leg.
Russell Prentice is in custody after people sent tips to Riverside police.
(Riverside Police Department)
At the time of the incident, there were two protests in the area — one was part of the “No Kings” rallies taking place across the country. The other was a demonstration against raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The groups merged early on,” Officer Ryan J. Railsback, a spokesperson for the department, said Monday. “And we have no reason to believe the driver was part of this protest.”
Video taken by demonstrators and posted on social media shows the black SUV stopped on University Avenue when a group of protesters begins to gather around the vehicle. One demonstrator can be seen bumping into the car’s left taillight while another uses an object to smash the light.
The car then moves forward, around demonstrators and speeds past Orange Street before running over the woman.
Police issued a plea to the community for tips to identify and locate the suspect. At some point, officers were able to find the SUV’s license plate number. Detectives were then able to identify the suspect, police said, and made an arrest in Riverside.
Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez expressed his thanks for the tips that people sent to police. “We’re grateful for the information they provided,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
Anyone else who has information on the hit and run is asked to contact Riverside Police Det. Mike Smith at MikeSmith@RiversideCA.gov or (951) 353-7103, or Det. Nic Cantino at NCantino@RiversideCA.gov or (951) 353-7104.
Times staff writers Ruben Vives and Howard Blume contributed to this report.
