Coroner IDs Barstow man, 61, left dead in hit-and-run; suspect pleads not guilty to felony

Charlie McGee, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read
Reginald Vance Ward, a 52-year-old Barstow resident, was arrested on suspicions of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in death after officers found a dead body July 9, 2022.
Reginald Vance Ward, a 52-year-old Barstow resident, was arrested on suspicions of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run resulting in death after officers found a dead body July 9, 2022.

The man left dead earlier this month after a late-night, car-on-pedestrian collision in a high-traffic area of Armory Road has been identified as 61-year-old Barstow resident Daryl Curtis Oliver.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Coroner Division has named Oliver as the man declared dead at the intersection of Armory Road and Monterey Avenue around 1:32 a.m. July 9. Two Barstow Police officers, Austin Jaramillo and Irwin Islas, found his body near the 900 block of Armory Road — a popular shopping center with outlets such as Stater Bros. Markets and Desert Community Bank — while on patrol around 1:25 a.m., the department said soon after the discovery.

Barstow police investigators arrested Reginald Vance Ward, a 52-year-old Barstow resident, around 8:30 p.m. the day of the early morning discovery of Oliver's body.

Ward was initially held on a $250,000 bail in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, his booking information showed days after the death. He was booked on suspicions of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and hit and run resulting in death.

Ward left custody on court-ordered release to "self" shortly after 9 p.m. July 19, per county booking records. He's set to re-appear in court next month, now facing one felony charge that the county filed against him on July 12.

"Our Office has filed one count of felony VC 20001(b)(2) – Hit and Run driving resulting in death or serious injury," San Bernardino County District Attorney's spokesperson Jacquelyn Rodriguez said in an email to the Daily Press. Ward has plead not guilty to the charge, according to the county Superior Court's electronic records portal.

"Defendant Ward was released on his own recognizance on July 19," she continued, "with an agreement to appear at his next hearing date" at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 23 in the Victorville Courthouse.

The county slapped a few restrictions on Ward's pre-hearing release: He "is only permitted to drive to and from work" and "is not permitted to drive at night, under the influence of alcohol or prescription medications," Rodriguez said.

Charlie McGee covers California’s High Desert for the Daily Press, focusing on the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities. He is also a Report for America corps member with The GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or cmcgee@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Coroner IDs dead Barstow man in hit-and-run; suspect pleads not guilty