A pedestrian, walking in the crosswalk and with the green light, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run motorist in the Vermont Square neighborhood in South Los Angeles, a police watch commander said Sunday.
The crash was a little after 9 p.m. Saturday, in the area of 43rd Street and Vermont Avenue, according to a watch commander at the LAPD's South Traffic Division.
Paramedics rushed the pedestrian to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries, he said.
Samuel Plates, a family friend, says the hit-and-run victim was his friend and upstairs neighbor who was celebrating his 6-year-old daughter's birthday at a family party before the fatal crash.
A translator says he was planning on getting engaged the same day.
"He was also going to propose to his wife so it was tragic."
This marks the third fatal hit-and-run in just two weeks, according to the LAPD.
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The driver traveled South on Vermont Avenue when police say the father had the green light at 43rd Street. Plates says the man was walking back from the liquor store — a block from home.
Now instead of celebrating, loved ones made a memorial and a family is planning a funeral for a loving father.
Detectives say they're searching for a possible red four-door car. They'll be searching the area Monday to see if any nearby cameras may have captured the crash on camera.
City News Service contributed to this report.
