Suspect sought in hit-and-run crash that killed two people in Sun Valley
Los Angeles police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a suspect wanted in a double fatal hit-and-run crash Friday night in the San Fernando Valley that may have resulted from street racing.
The driver of a dark-colored Dodge Charger that was speeding and driving recklessly along with a white 2015 Dodge Charger east on San Fernando Road in Sun Valley about 7:10 p.m. before colliding with a blue 1998 Toyota Corolla, which was turning left onto Lankershim Boulevard, police said.
The driver of the Toyota and a passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. KTLA Channel 5 reported the victims were 59-year-old Olivia Enriquez West, a Sun Valley resident, and her husband of 25 years, Leland West.
The driver of the white Dodge, a 25-year-old resident of Pacoima, and her two passengers were taken to hospitals, police said. The driver and a female passenger remained hospitalized, while the male passenger was released after being treated for minor injuries.
“The driver of the white Dodge displayed a willful disregard for human life,” police said in a statement. “She remains at a local hospital due to the extent of her injuries, and will subsequently be arrested and booked for murder.”
The male driver of the dark Dodge failed to render aid and fled the scene, police said. “Speed kills, and reckless driving will not be tolerated,” they said.
Officer Mike Lopez, an LAPD spokesman, initially told The Times that the driver who fled the scene in Sun Valley was arrested and booked into Los Angeles County Jail on Saturday. But the man he identified — Jared Walter Anderson, 26 — was actually arrested Sunday in a separate fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred early Saturday in Hollywood.
The suspect in the Sun Valley crash remains at large.
“From talking with witnesses, speed will have played a factor in this, and it possibly involves street racing,” Los Angeles Police Lt. Meghan Aguilar told KTLA.
Twitter: @adamelmahrek
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