An arrest has been made in a fatal hit and run accident that occurred last December in Yuma.

The accident on December 20, 2024, claimed the life of a 34-year-old pedestrian on an Interstate 8 exit ramp in Yuma. Ijah Se'lah Smith of Atlanta, Georgia, was struck by a vehicle and suffered fatal injuries. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene. The suspect, Donovan Jamal Thomas, 36, of Scott, Louisiana, was located in the state of New York and arrested. He was returned to Yuma on Friday, May 16, 2025, and was booked into Yuma County Detention Center on charges of First Degree Murder, Kidnapping, and Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Injury or Death. Bail has been set at $1 million.