An anonymous donor has added $100,000 to the reward fund set up in the wake of a hit-and-run crash near USC that left one student dead and another seriously injured, Chief William Bratton said Thursday.
Additional LAPD detectives have been put on the case, and the chief said he believes the $100,000 infusion -- which is in addition to $135,000 collectively pledged by USC, the Los Angeles City Council and county Board of Supervisors -- will encourage witnesses to come forward.
Adrianna Bachan, 18, and Marcus Garfinkle 19, were crossing Jefferson Boulevard at Hoover Street about 3 a.m. Sunday when they were struck by a black car -- possibly a Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla or a Lexus.
The driver, who was heading east on Jefferson when he ran a red light and struck the two students, was described by police as an Hispanic man with a shaved head.
Bachan was killed, and Garinkle remains hospitalized in serious condition with two broken legs and other injuries. After the car hit Garfinkle, the driver stopped long enough for a passenger to pull the student off the hood.
"That act was so egregious, in the sense of not only striking those individuals in that crosswalk but then to actually get out and throw one of the victims off the hood of that car and leave. We will get them and we will prosecute them," Bratton said at a news conference outside the Police Academy in Elysian Park.
In addition to the driver, there were two passengers in the car, whose windshield was so badly damaged that one of the occupants hung out the side of the vehicle to hold it in place, according to Bratton.
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"People who are aware of their neighbor's car that all of the sudden is now without a windshield or might be sitting in a backyard with a top over it, that's what we're looking for," Bratton said.
"If you know of a vehicle in your neighborhood that all of a sudden has damage that was not there several days ago or appears as if they are attempting to conceal it, we want that information," he said.
Anyone with information regarding the case was asked to contact LAPD detectives at 323-290-6070 or 213-485-7336.
