Alleged hit-and-run driver in custody after boy left with major head injuries

A Lakeside man was behind bars Friday on suspicion of hit-and-run after a 12-year-old boy was struck in El Cajon, leaving him severely injured.

Dani A. Korkis, 35, allegedly was driving a white BMW X5 that hit the young pedestrian in the 300 block of Ballantyne Street at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to El Cajon police.

Emergency personnel arrived to find the victim lying in the roadway with extensive head injuries. Debris from the vehicle that hit him was scattered in the street, Lt. Joe Crawford said.

Paramedics took the child to a hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. He remained hospitalized Friday, but his vital signs were stable, Crawford said.

An automated license-plate reader and other databases identified the suspect vehicle, and detectives found it parked at a Lakeside business, damaged in a manner consistent with the hit-and-run, police said. They then located Korkis and arrested him.

The driver was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of felony hit-and run causing great bodily injury. He is being held on $50,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday