JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The family of a woman killed in a hit-and-run crash back in January is celebrating after the suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the US Marshals, arrested 24-year-old Alexander Rivera-Russo after he was accused of leaving the scene of a car crash that cost 27-year-old Savana Pendarvis her life.
Action News Jax spoke to Pendarvis’ sister, Haleigh Smith, in May after she made a TikTok demanding Rivera-Russo’s arrest that garnered over half a million views.
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Smith described Pendarvis as someone who knew how to make others feel loved.
“She was such a light,” Smith said. “Anybody who had the opportunity to know her knew what it was to feel cared for.”
Unfortunately, Pendarvis’ life was cut tragically short in January after a hit-and-run crash left her car in flames.
“He was racing home and going 100 miles per hour on University Boulevard,” Smith said. “He struck her, she hit a utility pole, and she went up in flames.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office identified the driver responsible as Rivera-Russo, who Smith says has been in hiding until Tuesday afternoon, when she got the call she’s waited eight months for.
“[The detective] let me know that Alex was in custody, and I just broke down,” Smith said. “I, like, thought it was a dream.”
Rivera-Russo’s arrest was announced after a multi-agency operation gassed him out of a house near Oakleaf Plantation. He now faces multiple felony charges, including leaving the scene of a deadly crash and vehicular homicide.
“He ran away, and he didn’t stop; he didn’t provide aid, he didn’t call for help — he let her burn,” Smith said. “It’s very possible that if he just was a decent human being, a half decent human being, that she would still be here.”
Smith says she hopes even more arrests are to come.
“We do know that he was staying with people, and so people knew that he was wanted,” Smith said. “People did not come forward, and so this isn’t over for our family and her loved ones.”
Rivera-Russo’s next court date is set for Sept. 23.
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