WESTMINSTER : Man Fatally Struck After Freeway Crash

A 20-year-old Gardena man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as he tried to cross the Garden Grove Freeway early Sunday after a traffic accident, police said.

The man, identified as Johnny Yoo, had been racing with another driver as they headed east on the freeway, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol said. Yoo, who had apparently borrowed his older brother’s identification and black sports car, lost control of the vehicle during the race and crashed into the center divider about 1:40 a.m.

Police said Yoo then jumped from the car and tried to run across the freeway. Yoo, who police said had been drinking, dashed toward the right shoulder but was hit before he could make it across the roadway.

The car threw Yoo into the two right lanes of the freeway, where at least four other cars ran over him. Police said Yoo was dressed in dark clothes and the section of the highway near Knott Street is not lighted. He died at the scene.

Police are seeking the hit-and-run driver, but have not charged any of the other drivers involved in the incident, all of whom either stopped at the scene or returned to it within moments of the incident. “They said they couldn’t avoid him,” the spokeswoman said.

Traffic on the eastbound Garden Grove Freeway was diverted for about an hour while officers conducted their investigation. All lanes were reopened before 3 a.m., the spokeswoman added.