A man in his 40s was crossing Sepulveda Boulevard outside a marked crosswalk around 5 a.m. Sunday when a black SUV and a silver pickup truck, both traveling southbound, struck him and kept driving without stopping. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene south of Parthenia Street in North Hills and pronounced him dead there. His identity is being withheld pending notification of relatives.
According to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department, the victim was a Black male in his 40s who was crossing westbound when both vehicles struck him. As of Sunday afternoon, an LAPD officer said neither vehicle nor driver had been located, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Investigators are now asking the public for help identifying the drivers of both vehicles.
A Corridor With a Troubled History
This is not the first time this stretch of Sepulveda Boulevard has seen deadly hit-and-run violence. The intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Parthenia Street was the site of a fatal hit-and-run back in July 2016, when a driver struck a pedestrian in his 50s, the article notes. LAPD's Valley Traffic Division investigated a March 18, 2026, hit-and-run on Nordhoff Street, where a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk was severely injured by a fleeing driver — a case Hoodline covered in its earlier reward story.
Traffic collision investigations in North Hills fall under the jurisdiction of LAPD's Valley Traffic Division. The LAPD Mission Community Police Station is located on Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills. That station also serves Sylmar.
Sunday Mornings Carry Outsized Risk
The timing of Sunday's crash lines up with a broader pattern identified by traffic safety researchers. A July 2026 study of Los Angeles County crash data by Jacoby & Meyers found that Sundays are the deadliest driving day in the county, with hit-and-run collisions making up 21% of all Sunday traffic incidents.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has previously targeted Sepulveda Boulevard in North Hills and Mission Hills for safety upgrades under its Mission Mile initiative, which aimed to add enhanced pedestrian crossings and bikeways along the wide North Valley arterial, as reported by Streetsblog Los Angeles.
Citywide Numbers and Legal Stakes
Traffic deaths have outpaced homicides in Los Angeles in recent years. LAPD end-of-year reporting showed vehicular fatalities reached 345 in 2023, including 108 hit-and-run deaths, surpassing homicides for the first time in nine years, according to Crosstown LA. LAPD's 2024 end-of-year crime statistics are also mentioned, without further comparison here.
The case also raises legal questions under California Vehicle Code Section 20001. The City of Los Angeles also maintains a standing reward of up to $25,000 through its Hit-and-Run Reward Program Trust Fund, established by the City Council in April 2015, for information leading to the identification, apprehension, and conviction or civil resolution of a driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run.
LAPD's Valley Traffic Division is asking anyone with information about the black SUV or silver pickup truck to come forward as the search for both drivers continues.
