Hit-Run Driver Sought by Police

Police were searching Thursday for the driver in a hit-and-run accident that left a 38-year-old transient with a broken jaw.

Officers called to the accident at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday found victim Lester James Minor lying face down in front of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store at 2320 S. Harbor Blvd., said Investigator Robert DePaola.

Minor was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange for treatment of the broken jaw and abrasions on his head, chest, right arm and abdomen. The patient was in stable condition Thursday, DePaola said.

Witnesses told police the driver of a black 1989 Nissan Sentra was northbound on Harbor Boulevard when Minor stepped off the sidewalk onto the street.

Minor told officers he did not see the car coming, DePaola said.

The Sentra then sped off but was later found abandoned behind a building nearby, according to police.

Investigators think the owner of the car, a Huntington Beach man, was the driver in the accident.

However, DePaola declined to identify him because “we don’t want him to run away if he knew we were looking for him.”

Anyone with information should contact DePaola or Investigator Chuck O’Connor at (714) 254-1532, or Sgt. Richard Buchholz at (714) 254-1861.