Police announced Wednesday that a man has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a 50-year-old woman last month.
Iris Davis died after someone ran her down on Adams Boulevard at Vineyard Avenue on Nov. 12, according to LAPD traffic detectives.
Weeks later, police arrested Zachary Labov, 23, on Dec. 7, who admitted he was driving at the time of the crash while he was interrogated by authorities, said Det. Sandra Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department's South Traffic Division.
Authorities held a news conference on Nov. 22 seeking the public's help to identify the driver and offered a reward. About a week later, police received a phone call and an anonymous caller told police Labov's name and the type of car he was driving, Smith said.
Detectives recanvassed the area and tracked down Labov and his car before his arrest, Smith said.
Labov was arrested without incident and was booked for felony hit-and-run. After he admitted his involvement to authorities, he told them he fled the scene because he was afraid, Smith revealed.
At the news conference Wednesday, Davis's mother, Vivian Gibson, thanked whomever provided clues to authorities, and thanked police officers who helped with her daughter's case.
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"I would just like to thank the community, and the police department for ... all their help in ending this as fast as they did," Gibson said. "It's like a heavy weight has been lifted off my chest."
At the news conference, Capt. Leland Sands of the LAPD Southwest Division spoke about the issue of hit-and-run crashes, and urged drivers not to drive away if they are involved in an accident.
"This person would not be facing charges at this point right now if he had stopped," Sands said. "It would have been an accident. The fact that he decided to make the decision to run, get in his vehicle and leave, that one becomes a problem."
Labov was released from jail on Dec. 8 on $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Charges against Labov were pending.
