BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A Bakersfield mother who has waited more than three years for justice in the hit-and-run death of her 16-year-old son will have to wait at least four more months after the latest court hearing.
On Jan. 25, 2022, 16-year-old Angel Berumen was riding his skateboard down Niles Street when he was struck by a pickup truck that fled the scene. Authorities later arrested the accused driver, Juan Rodelas Ortega, and four of his family members, who investigators say helped cover up the incident.
Berumen was airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, where he died two days later. Surveillance video led investigators to a hidden pickup truck, which they say Ortega and his family attempted to repair. Authorities also allege the family discussed fleeing to Mexico.
The arrests were made in February 2022, but the case has yet to move past the preliminary stages toward a trial. Berumen’s mother, Jasmine Burleson, has attended every hearing. In January, she told 23ABC News it is increasingly difficult to know the accused are free on bond while the case drags on.
The readiness hearing for Ortega and the other defendants has been postponed to December. After the latest hearing, Burleson said the repeated delays feel like “a miscarriage of justice.”
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