Witnesses Sought in Hit-Run Death of Pedestrian

Police are looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run driver who killed a 43-year-old homeless woman as she pushed a shopping cart filled with her belongings across a busy street Monday evening.

The woman, whose identity was not released pending notification of relatives, was crossing in the 200 block of Orangethorpe Avenue near Pomona Avenue when she was struck by a westbound car at 7:40 p.m., said police investigator Karen Lindsey.

“The car hit her and fled,” Lindsey said. “She is a transient who had been in that area for quite some time.”

The woman’s body was found near a crosswalk, but it is not known if she was in the crosswalk when she was struck.

No witnesses have come forward, which Lindsey said is surprising because the incident occurred on such a heavily traveled street near a busy shopping center.

“What we really need is for someone to come forward and tell us what happened,” she said. “At that time of day and in that area, there had to be a lot of people around so somebody had to have seen something.”

Witnesses are asked to call Lindsey at (714) 738-6813.