A 51-year-old motorist suffered moderate injuries and his passenger, a 37-year-old woman, was fatally injured Sunday when their BMW struck a disabled vehicle on the Santa Monica (10) Freeway, on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.
The crash occurred a little after 5 a.m. on the eastbound freeway, just west of Santa Fe Avenue, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Initially, there was a single-vehicle crash, which left a vehicle disabled within the lanes of traffic. The motorist inside that vehicle fled the scene, the CHP said.
Moments later, a second eastbound vehicle — a 2006 BMW 328i — struck the disabled vehicle. As a result of the impact, the driver of the BMW, a 51-year-old man from El Monte, was rushed to Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center with moderate injuries.
His passenger, a woman from Baldwin Park, was taken to the same hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
“As a result of this collision, additional collisions occurred at the same location,” according to a CHP statement.
The CHP did not release a description of the initial, disabled vehicle.
A Sigalert issued at about 5:20 a.m., closing the Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 lanes of the eastbound freeway, was canceled at 8:49 a.m.
The CHP’s Central Los Angeles office urged anyone with information regarding the fatal crash to call them at 213-744-2331.