Judge keeps bond at $2M following arrest in deadly Belmont hit-and-run crash

BELMONT, N.C. (WBTV) - Belmont police arrested a man in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash.

According to the Belmont Police Department, 22-year-old Jacob Valdez was driving a vehicle that hit two people on Catawba Street on Saturday, July 23, and then took off.

22-year-old Christian Beaty died at the scene and her husband Sean was injured.

Sean says he was knocked to the ground but did not need to be treated.

He shared this statement about his wife with WBTV:

“She was a wonderful, loving, caring person whose laugh and smile and personality lit up everyone she touched. She loved family so much and I will always love her.”

Sean says he, Christian and her mother and step father were all walking along the road when it happened. He says he was in the bike lane and the rest of them were in the grass to the side of the curb.

Police say they connected Valdez to the truck involved.

Valdez is charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of felony hit and run causing serious injury or death.

According to the arrest warrant, “the defendant unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did fail to immediately stop the vehicle the defendant was driving at the scene of a crash in which the defendant was involved.”

He is in the Gaston County Jail on a $2 million bond.

He faced a judge Tuesday afternoon where he requested a court-appointed attorney.

“I’m gonna leave the bond where it’s set sir,” the judge said. “The magistrate set that with more information than I have so I’m not going to change it.”

He is due back in court on August 16th.

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