Edhat Staff
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch announced Wednesday that charges have been filed against 56-year-old Brock Alexander Hoffman.
Hoffman, 56, is charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.
The charge stems from a traffic collision in the late hours on June 29, 2024 near Cliff Drive and Loma Alta in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara Police dispatch received a 9-1-1 call about an injured pedestrian lying on the road around 11:38 p.m. in the 800 block of Cliff Drive.
When officers arrived on scene, they discovered 39-year-old Juan Lopez had been struck by a vehicle, and the vehicle fled the scene. Lopez, the store manager of Vons grocery, had reportedly just gotten out of his car that he parked on the street when investigators believe he was hit by Hoffman’s Toyota Land Cruiser.
Lopez passed away from the injuries he sustained from the collision.
After days of investigative teamwork by Santa Barbara Police Traffic Investigators and Detectives identified and located the vehicle involved in the collision.
Further investigation led to the identification of the individual driving the vehicle as Hoffman. He surrendered himself to police on July 4, 2024 at the Santa Barbara Police Department, where he was subsequently arrested around 10:00 a.m. Hoffman was released on a bail of $50,000.
On Wednesday, Hoffman appeared in Department 8 at the Santa Barbara Superior Court where he entered a Not Guilty plea.
The next scheduled court appearance is on October 21, 2024 in Department 12 at the Santa Barbara Superior Court.
A GoFundMe online fundraiser has been set up to help support Lopez’s family and cover funeral costs.
The family of Lopez has filed a civil lawsuit against Hoffman, alleging negligence and wrongful death. According to the lawsuit, filed by the family’s attorney Brian Osborne, Hoffman and a passenger were both present during the incident.
The complaint details that both individuals exited the vehicle, observed Lopez injured on the street, and chose to flee the scene without reporting the accident to law enforcement or assisting Lopez.
The lawsuit accuses Hoffman of subsequently attempting to conceal his involvement in the accident, causing Lopez’s family significant emotional and physiological distress. The family is now seeking compensation for their loss and suffering.
Related Articles
Victim’s Identity Released in Fatal Hit and Run on Cliff Drive, Suspect at Large
Santa Barbara Man Arrested for Fatal Hit and Run on Cliff Drive
Alcohol is a scourge but so is the lack of ethics that seems to afflict so many individuals these days. Juan was a very kind and generous man…hope his family can find some justice even if they can’t bring him back.
Is the driver named Alexandar, or Hoffman and is he 55 or 56? This article needs to be edited…
R.I.P to the victim. It is disconcerting that callous and shameless sociopaths live among us.
This article is incomplete. Is the perp still in jail, or out on bail? If so, what was their bail? Please update the article.
RINCONER – looks like he was released on bail and is not in custody. This is so awful. What kind of lowly POS hits a human and then takes off?
Likely the driver wasn’t sober, so they took off because they didn’t want a DUI. All in all, pretty disgusting!
I hope you rot, Brock Hoffman. To hit someone and leave them to die with little chance of intervention given the time of day… Boy, is there a circle of hell with your name on it waiting.