A group of bicyclists was reportedly struck by a vehicle late Saturday night in Montclair, and the driver fled the scene, leaving police scrambling to piece together what happened. The crash happened just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of Kingsley Street and Tudor Avenue, south of the 10 Freeway, with video from the scene showing several bicycles strewn across the roadway.
That same video appeared to show a covered body at the scene, according to ABC7 Los Angeles, though how many people were hurt in the crash has not been made available. Montclair police are now searching for the driver responsible, and investigators are focusing on a car found roughly a mile from the crash site with severe front-end damage, per the same report.
Investigators Zero In On Damaged Vehicle
The discovery of the heavily damaged car a mile away suggests investigators believe it may be connected to the crash, though the station's report does not detail how officers tracked it down or confirm a direct link. Eyewitness News reached out to Montclair police for more information, but further details were not immediately available.
The lack of information on injuries leaves a lot still unknown about Saturday night's crash. It is not yet clear how many bicyclists were involved, their conditions, or the exact sequence of events that led to the collision at Kingsley and Tudor.
A Grim Echo Of A 2016 Case
This is not the first time Kingsley Street has been the site of a hit-and-run involving a bicyclist in Montclair. Back in February 2016, police said a pickup truck struck and killed 66-year-old Dieu Van Nguyen as he rode his bike near the 4600 block of Kingsley Street, according to the San Bernardino Sun. Nguyen was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In that earlier case, police described the suspect vehicle as a full-sized, dark-colored, four-door pickup truck with lights mounted above the windshield on the roof, the Sun reported. Officials said the truck was last seen speeding west on Kingsley Street from Helena Avenue, possibly turning south onto Ramona Avenue. That driver's identity was never confirmed in the report.
Under California law, a driver involved in a collision resulting in injury or death is required to stop and provide identification and aid, per California Vehicle Code 20001. Fleeing the scene of a crash involving only property damage carries its own set of legal obligations under Vehicle Code 20002. Whether either statute applies to Saturday night's crash has not been addressed by investigators.
For now, Montclair residents are left with images of bicycles scattered across Kingsley Street and a damaged car found blocks away, but no confirmed answers about who was hurt or who was behind the wheel. Police have not released a suspect description or vehicle description for the current case, and the investigation remains active.
