Man in wheelchair killed while crossing street in Fullerton hit-and-run

Police are searching for the hit-and-run driver who they say fatally struck a man in a wheelchair Monday night in Fullerton as he crossed the street.

The victim, described as a man in his 60s, was crossing in an unmarked area of the street in the 2600 block of Orangethorpe Avenue just before midnight when he was hit, KABC reported.

The victim was thrown more than 150 feet after the collision.

Fullerton police described the vehicle as a white SUV, which was last seen driving westbound toward Magnolia Avenue.

Had the driver stopped, there’s the potential that the collision would have been considered a less serious crime, if at all, because the victim wasn’t in a crosswalk, police told KTLA. But a car accident automatically becomes a felony when the driver flees.

“Unfortunately, whoever was driving the vehicle tonight made a poor decision by leaving the scene. We don’t know why they chose to do that,” Sgt. Jeff Stuart told KTLA. “We understand that accidents do occur. We need to talk to them and find out what happened.”

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