[symple_googlemap title=”LB fatal hit-and run crash” location=”1000 block of West Anaheim Street, Long Beach, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A wrong-way hit-and-run killer was hunted by Long Beach police Tuesday after he drove without lights head-on into another vehicle in early morning darkenss.
Authorities asked the public for help in finding the driver of the Isuzu Rodeo SUV who ran from the death scene after crashing into a small compact car. A passenger in the other vehicle was killed.
The crash occurred about 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of West Anaheim Street. Officers did not speculate about the possibility of alcohol or drugs being involved, but the collision took place just as bars were closing after Saturday night.
The Isuzu Rodeo without its headlights on was speeding westbound on Anaheim Street, in the eastbound lanes, when the SUV collided head-on with a Toyota Scion compact car, according to the Long Beach Police Department. The driver of the Isuzu, described only as a male, fled on foot.
Paramedics took the four occupants of the Toyota to a hospital, where a passenger died. The name of the fatally injured man, a 28-year-old resident of Tempe, Arizona, was withheld pending notification of his relatives.
The driver of the Scion, 26-year-old Marie McLaughlin of Long Beach, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries. Her other two passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Anyone with information on the crash was urged to call Detective Brian Watt at (562) 570-7355, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
— Staff and wire reports