A driver suspected of fleeing the scene after killing an elderly pedestrian in Portland in April was arrested Tuesday.

Jaime Mendoza-Chavez told Portland police officers who arrested him that he “wanted to tell the truth” and admitted to driving the Honda Accord involved in the April 10 crash, according to a probable cause affidavit. Mendoza-Chavez said he had consumed two beers before getting behind the wheel, the court document says.

Mendoza-Chavez, 42, said he didn’t know what happened to the person he hit, the affidavit said. After police told him 82-year-old Sandra Bosch died, his eyes filled with tears and police arrested him.

Mendoza-Chavez faces accusations of criminally negligent homicide and failure to perform the duties of a driver. He was released Friday from the Multnomah County Detention Center after posting bail, jail records show. He was being held on $25,000 bail. He has no prior criminal history, Oregon court records show.

Witnesses told police at the time of the crash that a red car traveling on North Fessenden Street hit a woman as she was crossing the road and made no attempt to stop to check on her, the affidavit said. One of the witnesses estimated the car was traveling around 45 mph.

Emergency responders found Bosch lying in the road around 10:30 p.m. near Fessenden Street and Polk Avenue, police said. She was pronounced dead there.

University of Portland campus security officers contacted police the next day after finding an abandoned Honda with a smashed front windshield near campus, almost two miles from where Bosch was hit, the affidavit said.

Police took samples of hair stuck in the windshield to be analyzed at the Oregon State Police Crime Lab, according to the court documents. Investigators also found a previous owner of the car by looking up the Honda’s license plate. That person had sold the car to someone else in December.

Analysts at the state crime lab confirmed to police on May 21 that the hair collected from the windshield belonged to Bosch, the affidavit said. The previous car owner spoke to police on Tuesday and told investigators more information about who she sold her car to, leading them to Mendoza-Chavez.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.