Fugitive In Oxnard Fatal Hit-And-Run Captured

VENTURA (CBSLA.com) –A 48-year-old fugitive wanted in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 69-year-old man in Oxnard last month has been captured after being on the run for nearly two months.

Patrick John McVicker of Ventura was arrested at about 11 a.m. Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport, according to California Highway Patrol. He was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. It is unclear if he was trying to flee the country.

CHP is coordinating his transfer back to Ventura.

McVicker faces multiple multiple felony charges in connection with a late-night July 6 crash that killed 69-year-old John Slade of Ojai.

According to CHP, McVicker was traveling north on the 101 Freeway – north of Victoria Avenue – when he lost control of his 2011 Audi S5, which was also carrying a passenger he had just met at a bar. The Audi slammed into a 2013 Toyota Prius being driven by Slade.

The Audi then went through a guardrail and rolled off the side of the freeway. The Prius also struck the guardrail and the center divider wall. Surveillance video from a nearby Coca Cola plant captured footage of the wreck.

Following the crash, McVicker pulled himself from the wreckage, abandoned his passenger and ran away, CHP said.

Slade was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center with major injuries. He passed away the following morning. A father and husband, Slade was well known in theater circles and was returning home from working on a production at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks when he was killed.

At a news conference last week, CHP investigators said that they believed McVicker to still be in the area and possibly living off a sizable bank account. They suspected he may be getting assistance from family and friends.

"We do know that he was telling friends he got beat up, versus being involved in an accident," CHP Commander Terry Roberts told reporters. "He had some sort of injuries to begin with. We found out that he does have a substantial amount of money in a bank account, so he probably can sustain himself for quite a while."