Person of interest in fatal Orange County hit and run taken into custody

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man named as a person of interest in the deadly hit and run of a motorcyclist in Orange County has been taken into custody, according to officials.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department said 41-year-old Damon Block was wanted so investigators could speak to him about the crash.

Deputies said he was taken into custody Wednesday evening after being found hiding in a home in the 12500 block of Vista Panorama in the unincorporated area of Santa Ana.

Authorities said Block was the man spotted in security video at a Santa Ana tow yard stealing a Honda Accord on Aug. 1.

Just three hours after the car theft, deputies said the Honda collided with a motorcycle on the windy roads in Modjeska Canyon.

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Paramedics rushed the two people on the motorcycle to the hospital. Joanne Ketter suffered serious injuries, but her 55-year-old husband, Drew Ketter, died at the hospital.

The Honda involved in the crash ended up on the side of the road and the driver ran away, according to officials.

The sheriff's department launched a search, but never found anyone. At the time of the crash, deputies said Block was out on bond after being arrested in July for auto theft.

A $25,000 felony warrant was issued for Block for an unrelated case, deputies said. Block was arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail for multiple arrest warrants unrelated to the hit-and-run fatality, though deputies said he still remained a person of interest in the case.

Block was held on $35,000 bail and was scheduled for his first court appearance on Friday.