Woman Dies, Man Hurt in Hit-and-Run

One motorist died and another was in extremely critical condition Sunday night after a hit-and-run accident on the Pomona Freeway in the City of Industry sent their car careening over a steep embankment, authorities said.

The 50-year-old driver was killed and her passenger, a 50-year-old man, was airlifted to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with massive head injuries. Their names were not available Sunday night, said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Art Acevedo.

A car described only as a red compact hit the center divider, then slammed back into the victims’ Mercedes-Benz, which plunged down the embankment, uprooting a tree.

The driver was apparently wearing the seat belt improperly, Acevedo said, and her passenger, who was thrown through the driver’s window, was not wearing a belt. “It would have saved him from the injuries he sustained,” said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Dennis Baker.

Witnesses told investigators that the driver of the compact stopped to look at the accident, then backed the car up onto the right shoulder and fled south on the 605 freeway.

Witnesses were asked to call the East Los Angeles CHP headquarters.

“Somebody had to see something,” Acevedo said.