Los Angeles police have arrested a hit-and-run driver who allegedly fatally struck an 83-year-old South Los Angeles community icon in September.
In a news release shared Tuesday, October 20, LAPD detectives said that 29-year-old John Anthony Cardenas was arrested near his place of work in Carson following an investigation that spanned nearly a month after the deadly crash on September 30.
Police were called to the intersection of 69th Street and South Central Avenue at around 8:45 p.m. that day upon learning of a crash involving a pedestrian. Upon arrival, they learned that 83-year-old Akil Saud Batani-Khalfani, known by loved ones as Bird, was walking across the street when he was allegedly struck by a dark blue four-door sedan driving through the intersection. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene…