Los Angeles

Woman Fatally Struck by Hit-Run Driver on 105 Freeway

A 61-year-old South Gate woman fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in a dark pickup truck on the eastbound Glen Anderson 105 Freeway in South Los Angeles was identified Friday by the coroner's office.

Kathleen Marie Cook was standing outside a black 1990 Mercury Cougar in the far right lane of the eastbound side of the freeway, west of Wilmington Avenue, when she was struck about 11:45 a.m. Thursday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer D. Weeda.

Cook was struck by the pickup truck and “propelled into traffic lanes,'' Weeda said.

The driver of the pickup fled eastbound on the freeway.

Cook was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics.

It was unclear why she had pulled her car over.

"You never know. You're going to see somebody one day and the next day they're gone. That's pretty bad. I'm going to miss her," said her neighbor, Gilbert Castro.

The suspect vehicle was described as a dark pickup truck likely to have moderate to major front-end damage, Weeda said.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run or the suspect vehicle was asked to call the CHP's South Los Angeles Area Office at 310-516-3355.

The CHP said nine pedestrians have been killed by cars on South LA freeways this year.

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