Probable cause: Joplin driver hits juvenile on moped, removes him from car, places him in ditch, leaves scene

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed felony assault, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence against a Joplin driver who allegedly struck a juvenile on a moped, pulled the child off his car, placed him in the ditch and left the scene November 30.

The child remains in critical condition at a Springfield hospital.

The allegations against Miguel Gaspar-Diaz (DOB 1981) were spelled out in the probable cause statement, which was filed today in Jasper County Circuit Court.

On 11/30/2024 at approximately 2051 hours, the Carthage Police Department responded to an injury crash involving a juvenile male victim on a moped and an unknown second vehicle that had left the scene in the 1100 block of S. Baker Blvd. 

Upon arrival, officers located the unoccupied moped in the middle of the road with extensive damage. A resident in the 1000 block of S. Baker contacted law enforcement and advised that there was a male lying in the ditch on the east side of the road in front of their residence. 

Carthage Fire Department responded and located the juvenile male victim and began rendering immediate aid due to obvious signs of trauma indicative of a serious motor vehicle crash. 

The juvenile male victim was transported by EMS emergency to Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Newton County, Missouri, with extensive injuries. The juvenile male has injuries including; brain bleeding and swelling, a torn aortic artery, a broken arm, a broken leg, multiple other broken bones, several lacerations, and road rash. There are also several other injuries documented as ongoing due to the severity and requiring the juvenile male to remain on life-saving equipment. 

The Juvenile was later transported to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Green County, Missouri, for a higher level of care due to his life-threatening injuries. 

During a subsequent investigation, it was determined by security footage from the area of the crash, that the vehicle fled the scene north to the intersection of Central Ave. and Baker Blvd. The vehicle then fled westbound outside the city limits of Carthage approximately four minutes after the crash occurred. 

The vehicle was later identified as a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox by parts of the vehicle located in the ditch next to where the juvenile male victim was found. The Carthage Police Department, with the assistance of the Joplin Police Department, was able to locate a red 2013 Chevrolet Equinox bearing Missouri license plate TD8U8N at the residence of the suspect with obvious front-end damage. 

The male at the residence, who was later identified as Miguel Gaspar-Diaz, initially said that he had struck a deer on 11/25/24 and had not been to Carthage. 

Carthage Detectives were able to partially reconstruct the damage to the front of the vehicle with the pieces that were recovered from the scene of the crash. Revealing in fact the vehicle in question was the vehicle involved in the crash that had fled the scene. 

During a subsequent interview with Gaspar-Diaz, he admitted to drinking alcohol at a friend's house in Carthage prior to the accident. Gasper-Diaz admitted to hitting the juvenile male victim with his vehicle and driving a few hundred feet before stopping and removing the juvenile male victim from the hood of his car and placing him in the ditch. 

Gasper Diaz admitted to then fleeing the scene without attempting to contact law enforcement or exchange information with the other party involved. It was later discovered Gasper-Diaz had never possessed a valid Missouri Driver's License. He has three current suspensions on his driving privileges in the State of Missouri. 

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