Man Lighting Fireworks in Roadway Fatally Struck by Hit-and-Run SUV

WILMINGTON, LOS ANGELES, July 3 (KNN) — A 36-year-old man was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in a sport utility vehicle while in the roadway igniting fireworks shortly after 9 p.m. Monday night, according to authorities.

The man was thrown a distance and landed partially beneath another vehicle exiting a shopping center parking lot on the 700 block of North Fries Avenue in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey.

Responding LAFD paramedics determined the man deceased at the scene. No one else was reported injured.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the SUV was traveling north on Fries Avenue from G Street at a high rate of speed when the driver of the SUV struck a pedestrian who was lighting off fireworks in the street. The pedestrian was dragged approximately 85 feet before becoming dislodged from the under carriage of the SUV. Once dislodged, the pedestrian was struck by a second vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle remained at the scene. The driver of the SUV fled north on Fries Avenue without stopping and rendering aid as required by law.

Detectives with LAPD’s South Traffic Division is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect involved in this fatal hit-and-run traffic collision.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Moreno or Officer Kim, South Traffic Division, at (323) 421-2500. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call L.A. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.

Gabriel Pabon, Video Journalist / KNN