An East Boston man tried to cover up his involvement in the collision that killed 22-year-old Sothany Pen in Revere yesterday morning, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office charged in court today.

JON RAVIDA (D.O.B. 3/20/64) is charged with motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident causing death for the incident on Route 1A at about 5:50 yesterday morning. Assistant District Attorney Megan O’Rourke of Conley’s Major Felony Bureau recommended that he be held on $50,000 cash bail; Chelsea District Court Judge James Wexler set bail at $25,000 and ordered that Ravida neither leave the Commonwealth without the court’s permission nor operate a motor vehicle while the case is pending.

“The evidence suggests that this driver didn’t just strike and kill a young woman, but also fled the scene and tried to cover up his responsibility,” Conley said. “These are extremely serious charges.”

O’Rourke told the court that a witness was present at a gas station in which Ravida made a purchase shortly before the collision. That witness left the gas station a short time after Ravida, who was driving a green Ford Explorer, and soon found himself in traffic with the defendant.

O’Rourke said the witness recounted Ravida cutting across multiple lanes of traffic and then colliding with something in the area of 335 Lee Burbank Highway. The witness stopped and saw a young woman lying unresponsive in the road. Ravida, meanwhile, used the nearby turnaround and began heading south. The witness tried to flag him down to no avail.

The witness called 911 and the victim – later identified as the 22-year-old Revere woman who had just left her overnight shift at a local department store – was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital but her injuries were massive and fatal.

Using the witness’ description of the suspect vehicle and its driver, as well as other evidence developed throughout the morning and afternoon, Revere Police and State Police homicide detectives assigned to Conley’s office were led to Ravida’s Bennington Street home.

In an interview with investigators, Ravida allegedly made statements indicating that he had been on Route 1A that morning and had hit something but did not know what. Ravida allegedly stated that he returned home, peeled some stickers from the truck’s rear window, and parked it in the parking garage space furthest from his residence. Additionally, he allegedly obtained some tools to pound out dents to the vehicle’s front end. Ravida was taken into custody following that interview.

Later yesterday evening, investigators executed a search warrant on the garage and vehicle. When they opened the garage door, O’Rourke said, they were met by the strong odor of bleach, as if it had been used on the vehicle in the very recent past.

Michael Schultz is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Ravida is represented by attorney John Haggerty. He will return to court on Sept. 23.