A 45-year-old homeless man was struck and killed while walking eastbound in the crosswalk at 54th Street and South Broadway on Thursday night, and the driver who hit him did not stop. Los Angeles police say the vehicle, described only as gray, continued northbound on Broadway before turning to flee eastbound on 53rd Street, leaving investigators with a thin trail of clues in the South Park neighborhood of historic South Los Angeles.
According to MyNewsLA.com, the crash happened Thursday night, and the fatal hit-and-run was under investigation Friday. Per LAPD, the victim was homeless, and video from the scene showed a shopping cart with his personal items scattered across the roadway. A medical examiner tent was erected at the location as investigators worked to piece together what happened. No vehicle description beyond the color and no suspect information were immediately available, the outlet reported.
A Familiar and Dangerous Stretch of Broadway
The intersection has drawn police attention before. In August, officers responded to the same stretch of South Broadway and West 54th Street after reports of an armed man, ultimately firing shots at a suspect whose weapon turned out to be a water pistol, according to the Los Angeles Times. The August incident occurred on the same stretch of South Broadway and West 54th Street discussed above.
Traffic collision investigations in South Park fall to detectives from the LAPD South Traffic Division, while the 77th Street Community Police Station lists South Park-51st and Menlo among the neighborhoods in its area. The case remains under investigation.
Legal Stakes for the Fleeing Driver
Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, any driver involved in a collision resulting in injury or death is required to stop immediately, render aid, and identify themselves regardless of fault, according to FindLaw. Fleeing a fatal crash is prosecuted as a felony in California, carrying up to four years in state prison and fines as high as $10,000. Separately, Vehicle Code Section 21950 requires drivers to yield to pedestrians crossing within a marked crosswalk and to reduce speed to protect their safety — a duty that applied to whoever was behind the wheel at 54th Street…