A bicyclist was killed in a multi-car crash in Panorama City early Thursday, police said.
At 5:40 a.m., the man was riding a bicycle and pulling a shopping cart filled with recyclables in the 8000 block of Woodman Avenue (map) when a brown Infiniti struck him, and went on to hit four parked vehicles, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
A passerby tried to help the victim, but the man died within minutes, witnesses said.
The driver stayed at the scene, while his injured passenger took off. Police said they want to interview the passenger.
"We know that there were injuries to his face and there was blood involved, so we know that there is some significant injury," Det. Bill Bustos said. "He walked away, so we're trying to find him."
Neighbors said the force of the impact shook them out of bed.
"It sounded like a Mack truck hitting another Mack truck, it was loud," said one neighbor. "A big bang, a crash and glass breaking."
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The owners of the vehicles involved arrived to the scene to find significant damage and had questions of their own.
"I'm just concerned that who's going to fix it," Porfirio Lozano said, "and how we're going to move it from here."
"It's not driveable anymore because of the back tires," said another car owner, Voltaire Lozano. "It's sad, of course. Somebody died."
