A man riding a scooter was struck and killed by a driver who sped away early Thursday morning in South Los Angeles, leaving investigators scrambling for clues about the vehicle that left him to die in the street. The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. near the intersection of San Pedro Street and Colden Avenue.
According to CBS News Los Angeles, investigators are still trying to identify the vehicle involved and are searching for security video that might capture the suspect car fleeing the area. As of Thursday, no arrests had been announced and the driver remains unidentified. MyNewsLA.com reports that LAPD South Traffic Division detectives are leading the investigation and are asking anyone with information to call 323-421-2577.
A Familiar and Deadly Pattern on South LA Streets
This is not an isolated case. Just two weeks ago, Hoodline reported on a Rosecrans hit-and-run that left a Lawndale teen dead after a driver on an e-scooter was struck and the driver vanished. In March, 33-year-old Christian Lira was killed while riding an electric scooter near Hoover Street and 75th Street by a driver who also fled, according to the same report from the South Traffic Division's investigation area.
The pattern stretches back further. In February, a 30-year-old woman riding a mobility scooter was fatally struck while crossing Slauson Avenue near Denver Avenue in a hit-and-run, per a report from J&Y Law, with officers at the time searching for a mid-2000s Chevrolet SUV with front-end damage. Each of these cases has unfolded within the same stretch of South Los Angeles corridors, underscoring how frequently scooter riders here have been left dead by drivers who did not stop.
The Legal Stakes for a Driver Who Flees
Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, leaving the scene of a collision that results in death or permanent, serious injury is a felony, punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison and fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, according to Justia Law. The statute requires drivers involved in injury or fatal crashes to stop immediately, identify themselves, and render reasonable aid, regardless of who caused the wreck.
The City of Los Angeles also maintains financial leverage to help crack cases like this one. Under the city's Hit-and-Run Reward Program Trust Fund, established by the L.A. Administrative Code in 2015, the city offers a standing reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, apprehension, and conviction of a driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run, according to LAPD Online.
South LA's Share of the City's Deadliest Streets
The danger facing scooter riders and pedestrians in this part of the city is backed by citywide numbers. Traffic collisions killed 290 people across Los Angeles in 2025, with more than 150 of those deaths involving pedestrians, according to LAist. Separately, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health data published this year found that hit-and-run collisions accounted for 30% of pedestrian fatalities in unincorporated parts of the county between 2015 and 2024.
Much of that danger is concentrated in specific corridors. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation's Vision Zero studies have found that roughly 6% of city street miles make up the High Injury Network, where more than 60% of severe and fatal traffic injuries occur, and South Los Angeles contains a concentrated share of those high-danger arterial streets, according to reporting from LAist.
Enforcement Efforts Still Catching Up
City officials are preparing new tools meant to curb the speeding that fuels many of these crashes. As part of California's AB 645 pilot program, Los Angeles is preparing a 2026 launch of automated speed enforcement cameras along high-risk traffic corridors, according to Steven M. Sweat Personal Injury Lawyers APC, with unsafe speed identified as the primary factor in nearly 46% of the city's vehicle collisions in 2025. Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 21235 already caps motorized scooter speeds at 15 mph, bars sidewalk riding, and requires a valid license or permit to operate one on public roads, per Hiboy.
For now, the man killed near San Pedro Street and Colden Avenue is the latest name added to a growing list of South Los Angeles scooter riders killed by drivers who never stopped. Detectives continue to ask anyone with dashcam or security footage from the area near the time of the crash to come forward as the search for the fleeing driver continues.
