Suspect Arrested In Connection With 2019 OKC Hit-And-Run That Killed Motorcyclist

A suspect has been arrested, accused of hitting and killing a man on a motorcycle more than a year ago. 

Maria De Jesus Cerna, 48, was taken into police custody Monday. She is accused of hitting a motorcycle while driving a maroon Chevy Surburban near Northwest 23rd Street and Meridian Avenue on December 8, 2019. 

Curtis Turner and his girlfriend, Amber Joy, were on the motorcycle at the time of the crash.

Joy survived the crash. Turner was taken to OU Health where he was later died. 

To most people Northwest 23rd and Meridian in OKC is just that, but to Joy, it’s a part of town that changed her life forever. 

“All kinds of emotions, I was crying, I was happy, I was sad,” Joy told News 9 after learning Cerna had been arrested. 

Days following the incident, Oklahoma City police released photos of a suspect and suspect vehicle. 

Tips helped lead police to an arrest. 

“I thought she fled to Mexico and wasn’t going to get caught,” said Joy. “I was wondering when is the day? When is the day? And it ends up being today.” 

“It has affected me big time, but it was really hard to move on, but I had to,” said Joy. 

Joy said she still remembers the crash that left her with broken bones. 

“I woke up (and I was) face down, he was face up,” said Joy. “It’s really hard to think about it.” 

An arrest brings a sigh of relief for Joy, but also many questions. 

“Why leave the scene? You just made it worse on yourself for one and changed my life so much and just left me out there to die,” said Joy. 

The suspect is charged with leaving the scene of a fatality accident and charges related to not having a driver’s license. 

A judge set a bond at $100,000.