A driver is on the run after fatally striking a person late Saturday night in South Los Angeles, and investigators say they still don't have a suspect in custody or even a confirmed vehicle description. The collision happened near East 68th Street and Avalon Boulevard in the Florence neighborhood, prompting officers to shut down a stretch of the roadway as they worked the scene.
Deadly Collision Closes Avalon Boulevard
According to KTLA, the Los Angeles Police Department reported the crash around 11:33 p.m. Saturday near East 68th Street and Avalon Boulevard. Officers closed a portion of Avalon Boulevard between 68th and 70th streets while they investigated, and authorities confirmed the crash was a fatal hit-and-run.
Police have identified the suspect vehicle only as a gray pickup truck, the station reports, and a confirmed make and model have not been released. Citizen App reports cited by the outlet described witnesses characterizing the vehicle as a gray Ford pickup last seen traveling westbound from the scene.
No Suspect, No Victim Details Released
As of the report, authorities had not announced an arrest, nor had they released information identifying the victim. The collision circumstances remain under investigation, and the station notes that no suspect information was immediately available. LAPD has urged anyone with information about the crash to come forward.
The Florence-area crash marks at least the third fatal hit-and-run reported in South Los Angeles within about two weeks. A man riding an electric scooter died Friday after being struck by two separate hit-and-run drivers in South LA, according to NBC Los Angeles, which reported that a second vehicle struck the man and dragged him roughly 200 additional feet before both drivers fled.
A String of Unsolved South LA Cases
On September 30, an 83-year-old pedestrian was killed near Central Avenue and 69th Street by a dark blue, four-door sedan whose driver also fled the scene, the same outlet reported. Earlier this year, LAPD Online detailed a pair of similar unsolved cases: an 88-year-old man struck and killed in a marked crosswalk on Avalon Boulevard near East 49th Street on April 1 by a possible black sedan, and a pedestrian killed on Vermont Avenue in Koreatown on March 27 when a white sedan struck them and drove off.
In the crosswalk case near East 49th Street, the city offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the offender's identification, apprehension and conviction, or resolution through a civil compromise, per LAPD Online.
Citywide Numbers Behind the Pattern
The Florence crash lands amid a broader, if improving, traffic-safety picture in Los Angeles. Traffic collisions killed 290 people citywide in 2025, with more than 150 of those fatal crashes involving pedestrians, according to LAPD data cited by LAist. That marked a 6% drop in fatalities from 2024, the outlet reported, making 2025 the second straight year traffic deaths on city streets declined — though the toll remains above pre-pandemic levels.
The city has invested nearly $350 million in its Vision Zero safety program since adopting it in 2015, including $13.5 million that funded LAPD overtime for speed-safety enforcement, the same report notes. Los Angeles is also expected to roll out speed-safety cameras citywide later this year. Separately, the California Office of Traffic Safety has said the state's pedestrian fatality rate runs almost 25% higher than the national average.
For now, the Florence neighborhood hit-and-run remains an open case, with no arrest, no named victim, and no confirmed vehicle beyond the gray pickup description. LAPD is asking anyone with information to come forward as the investigation continues.
