The alleged hit-and-run motorist responsible for the fatal crash of a car into a house in the Harbor Gateway area was in custody Friday, police said.
Rashanda Norman, 34, surrendered to authorities Thursday night and was booked on suspicion of felony hit and run, according to Detective Karen Jones of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division.
Norman was held on $50,000 bail, according to the sheriff’s department.
The crash occurred place just after 8 p.m. Wednesday at 14837 S. Orchard Ave., near the Harbor (110) Freeway, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
At least one victim was trapped inside the home, underneath the car, for a time.
A woman in her 80s died at a hospital, coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. Her name was withheld pending notification of kin, but neighbors and family members identified her in news reports as Elsa de Belen.
All but one of the victims were women, and the patients taken to hospitals — three of whom were listed in critical condition — range in age from their 40s to 80s, KCAL9 said.
The car was southbound on Orchard Avenue “at a high rate of speed” when the “motorist ran off the roadway and collided into a house where a group of (people) were gathered for religious purposes,” the LAPD said.
The homeowner, a retired schoolteacher, regularly hosts prayer meetings in her living room, according to a family member of one of the victims.
The maroon-colored sedan — which was missing license plates — remained wedged inside the house, and the motorist fled on foot.
Police noted that in April 2015, the Los Angeles City Council created a hit-and-run reward program trust fund, under which a reward of up to $50,000 is available for information leading to the apprehension of the driver.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the LAPD South Traffic Division watch commander at (323) 421-2540; South Traffic Division detectives at (323) 421-2500; or (877) LAPD-247.
—City News Service