A man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run that killed a construction worker in North Charleston, according to police.
What happened
The North Charleston Police Department said the crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, near Rivers Avenue and N.A.D. Road. A worker in an active construction zone was hit by a vehicle, and the driver did not stop.
The worker was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The Charleston County Coroner’s Office has not released his name.
How the driver was found
Witnesses gave police a description of the vehicle: a red pickup truck. Officers found the truck on North Rhett Avenue on Oct. 13 and arrested the driver, Carlos Alberto Castro Pineda, police said.
According to the judge at his bond hearing, Castro Pineda had kept driving the same truck in the days after the crash and was behind the wheel when he was arrested.
Charges
Castro Pineda is charged with:
- Reckless vehicular homicide
- Hit-and-run resulting in death
- Driving under suspension
Bond hearing
Castro Pineda appeared by video at a bond hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with the help of a Spanish-language interpreter.
The victim’s wife spoke at the hearing, telling the judge her husband had just stepped off a truck when he was hit. “He could’ve stopped,” she said.
Magistrate Amanda Haselden set a $100,000 surety bond on the reckless homicide charge but refused to set bond on the hit-and-run charge, meaning Castro Pineda will stay in the Charleston County jail.
The judge said she was concerned he might flee and could be a danger to the community. She cited his past record, including a 2025 conviction for driving under the influence and driving without a license. She also said he had been deported in 2016 and was later convicted of illegally re-entering the country in 2018.
Castro Pineda is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
A reminder for drivers
South Carolina law requires drivers to slow down and use extra caution in work zones, and fines for speeding in a work zone can be higher than normal. Construction workers are often just feet away from moving traffic, especially at night.
We’ll update this story when the victim is identified.
Source: North Charleston Police Department, as reported by The Post and Courier
