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.
Los Angeles maintains a standing incentive for tips in cases exactly like this one. Under a 2015 amendment to the city's administrative code, a Hit-and-Run Reward Program Trust Fund offers up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction or civil resolution of a driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run, per LAPD Online. LAPD has invoked that same reward program in other recent South LA cases, including a mid-August hit-and-run at Vermont Avenue and West 83rd Street that killed a 62-year-old pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.
Part of a Broader Pattern in South LA
The crash also lands amid troubling health data for the city's unhoused population. Hoodline previously reported on a fatal hit-and-run near San Pedro Street in late August in nearby Historic South-Central, where a 45-year-old man was found unresponsive after being struck by an unidentified fleeing driver. City crash reporting includes hit-and-run incidents alongside other collisions.
The crash also brings traffic safety for the city's unhoused population into focus. Annual traffic deaths across Los Angeles have consistently rivaled or exceeded the city's homicide totals in recent years, fueling ongoing debate over Vision Zero infrastructure investments meant to eliminate traffic fatalities.
LAPD has not released any additional description of the suspect vehicle or driver beyond its color and direction of travel. Anyone with information is asked to contact South Traffic Division detectives as the investigation continues.
