A man who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Cornville Sunday night has been identified. Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call Sunday night regarding the accident at the corner of Cornville Road and Mountain View Drive at around 11 p.m. The victim of the incident has been identified as 49-year-old New York resident, Fernando Diaz. Witnesses at the scene claim Diaz seemed to be in an argument on the phone before the accident. Diaz’s fiancee, who also witnessed the accident, told YCSO deputies she drove to meet with Diaz, who was in the middle of the road. After asking Diaz to get into the vehicle, she pulled onto a side street, which is when Diaz was struck. The witness who reported the incident was luckily able to tell deputies which way the suspect fled. Deputies were able to find 46-year-old, Village of Oak Creek resident, Channon Gabriel Kirchner about 20 minutes later in a 1999 yellow Ford Mustang near Sedona on Highway 179 after an unrelated traffic stop. Deputies took Kirchner into custody and impounded his vehicle as evidence. Kirchner is now being detained based on the pending YSCO investigation. Diaz’s family has set up a “GoFundMe” account to have Diaz moved back to New York to be buried with his family.
To go to the GoFundMe page, click here:
