2024 Fatal Phelan Hit-And-Run Case Dismissed After Defendant Dies By Suicide
PHELAN, Calif. (VVNG.com) — A criminal case against a Hesperia man accused in a 2024 hit-and-run crash that killed a 65-year-old woman in Phelan has been dismissed after prosecutors confirmed the defendant had died.
Roosevelt Madison Garrett, who was 77 when the crash occurred, was accused in connection with the death of Cynthia Moss.
According to an Aug. 14, 2026, minute order from the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, the case came before Judge Elizabeth Ulsh for an arraignment in the Victorville District. Garrett was not present, and the court record states, “The People confirmed the defendant is deceased.”
The court dismissed a count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, a special allegation of flight from the scene, and a count of hit-and-run resulting in permanent injury or death, according to the minute order. The dismissals were entered on motions by the prosecution.
Court records also show a $60,000 surety bond posted for Garrett on Sept. 19, 2024, was exonerated.
Information from the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Department lists Roosevelt M. Garrett, 79, of Hesperia, as having died on May 5, 2026. He was found at his home in Hesperia, and the manner of death was listed as suicide.
The criminal case stemmed from a fatal crash that occurred at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2024, on Phelan Road east of Buttermere Road.
Moss was crossing Phelan Road with the aid of a walker when she was struck by the driver of a Kia Sportage. According to information released at the time, the driver untangled the walker from the vehicle and fled the scene.
The following day, Garrett attempted to report a crash from the previous evening that had occurred in the general vicinity of the fatal hit-and-run.
California Highway Patrol investigators subsequently located a Kia Sportage matching the description of the vehicle that fled the scene and impounded it as evidence. Garrett was arrested and booked into the High Desert Detention Center in connection with the fatal crash.
The court’s Aug. 14 minute order formally dismissed the case following confirmation of Garrett’s death.
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