Berkeley Police Arrest Man in Fatal Hit-and-Run

Police were called to Ashby Avenue and Regent Street shortly before 6:40 p.m. on November 3 after a westbound driver struck a pedestrian and left the scene. Officers and emergency responders found the 64-year-old woman seriously injured. She was taken to a trauma center and later died. Her identity has not been released.

A witness gave police the license plate number of the car, identified as a Kia Soul. The department’s license plate reader system later detected the vehicle entering Interstate 80 from the Gilman Street onramp at about 9 p.m.

Officers stopped the Kia as it traveled toward San Rafael, just beyond the Interstate 80 and 580 split, and detained its driver. The driver was identified as 66-year-old Oakland resident Nikolaus Messina.

Authorities booked Messina for allegedly driving while impaired, with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.08% or higher, causing injury while impaired, leaving an injury crash, and gross vehicular manslaughter. Jail records show he is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on $380,000 bail.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. Police credited the witness’s information, license plate reader technology and officers’ response with helping locate the vehicle and resolve the investigation.