A man killed in a hit-and-run in Newport Beach on New Year's Day has been described as "intelligent and kind-hearted" by his family.
Travis Marton died after being hit on Pacific Coast Highway near Newport Coast Road at around 3 a.m. Thursday. A man has been booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run.
His brother told NBC4 the 23-year old Valencia resident had been working on research to help organ recipients avoid transplant rejections. He had previously earned his degree in bio engineering at UC Santa Cruz.
He also said Marton had an adventurous spirit, and enjoyed skydiving, scuba-diving, and living life to the full.
The victim's father Andrew said he had been in Newport visiting college friends, however he did not know why he had been out walking on PCH at such an early hour.
An investigation into the incident had closed PCH for hours Thursday, but within minutes of the initial call reporting the incident Laguna Beach Police Department had pulled over a yellow cab that had front end damage.
Thw 56-year-old driver Ronald Lloyd Avlies was arrested, and later booked. He is being held on $50,000 bail according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department jail website.
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No one answered the door at his San Clemente home Thursday, but neighbors said he had been driving a taxi for years, and were shocked he had been arrested.
"I would be surprised if that was him, but I don't know. He seems like a responsible guy," neigbor Grace LaHatt said, "I would think that he would've been responsible (enough) to stop."
