A man in his 30s was struck and killed while walking in a marked crosswalk in Chatsworth early Sunday, and the driver who hit him never stopped. Los Angeles police are now searching for a black-and-gray BMW SUV connected to the fatal hit-and-run, which happened near the intersection of De Soto Avenue and Lassen Street just after midnight.
According to KTLA, the incident was reported at 12:40 a.m. Sunday at the intersection, while mynewsla.com places the crash a minute earlier, at 12:39 a.m., at the same location. Either way, the pedestrian was walking in a marked crosswalk when the vehicle struck him and kept going, per mynewsla.com's account.
Police say the SUV was traveling southbound on De Soto Avenue when it hit the man and continued driving without stopping, the outlet reports. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, according to an LAPD spokesperson cited in that report.
Victim and Suspect Vehicle Details Remain Limited
An LAPD spokesperson described the victim as a Hispanic man in his 30s, per KTLA's reporting. The same spokesperson described the suspect vehicle only as a black-and-gray BMW SUV, offering no further identifying details about the car or its driver.
The driver is believed to be male, though his age is not known, mynewsla.com's report states. Officials have released no further information about the collision, KTLA notes, leaving the driver's identity and the exact circumstances of the crash unresolved for now.
Not the First San Fernando Valley Hit-and-Run
This is not the only recent case in which Los Angeles police have hunted for a driver who fled after striking a pedestrian in the San Fernando Valley. In a separate incident, LAPD sought help locating two alleged hit-and-run drivers after a pedestrian was fatally struck on Sepulveda Boulevard just south of Parthenia Street in North Hills, according to CBS Los Angeles. That collision, which happened around 5 a.m., involved a black SUV and a silver pickup truck striking a man in his 40s who was crossing outside a crosswalk; neither driver stopped, and he too was pronounced dead at the scene, per that report.
The pattern reflects a broader problem documented by state traffic safety officials. California's pedestrian fatality rate is nearly 25% higher than the national average, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. The agency's own data shows some recent improvement statewide, with pedestrian fatalities dropping roughly 8.8%, from 1,213 in 2022 to 1,106 in 2023.
Locally, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has flagged hit-and-runs, speeding and driving under the influence as key illegal driving behaviors contributing to traffic deaths across the county, though the department notes its most recent figures remain provisional. No arrest has been reported in Sunday's Chatsworth case, and police have not released additional details about the vehicle or its driver beyond the initial description.
