Atascadero fatal hit-and-run driver was under the influence of drugs

March 15, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Atascadero police officers identified the driver arrested Friday for a hit-and-run crash that killed an 11-year-old boy as 31-year-old Zachary Bernal. He is suspected of being under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the fatal crash.

Officers arrested Bernal on charges of vehicular manslaughter,  narcotics possession, under the influence of a controlled substance, and hit-and-run resulting in death.

After locating Bernal’s truck near the crash site, officers closed off a section of southwest Atascadero as they searched for the suspect. Residents of a home on Seville Lane told officers one of the suspects was in their garage.

Officers than arrested Bernal and booked him in the San Luis Obispo County Jail where he remains in lieu of $1 million bail.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has security camera footage, photographs, or other relevant evidence from the area around the time of the incident, to contact the Atascadero Police Department Detective Bureau at (805) 470-3252.