NORTH HOLLYWOOD : $25,000 Reward Offer OKd in Hit-and-Run

Hoping to apprehend the driver who struck and killed an elderly woman, the Los Angeles City Council approved Friday a $25,000 reward for information leading to the motorist’s arrest.

The reward was proposed by Councilman Joel Wachs at the request of police and the family of the victim, 80-year-old Selma Labovitz of Sherman Oaks.

“It’s obvious that killing an innocent 80-year-old woman, especially one as dear and beloved as Selma Labovitz, is a tragedy by any account,” Wachs said at a press conference near the site of the July 5 killing.

Labovitz was walking back to her car from the 99 Cents Only Store on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood when a beige or tan Chevy Nova sped through the parking lot, hitting her and throwing her into the air, police said.

Lou Labovitz, her husband, was on the other side of the car and witnessed the car drive away after it struck his wife.

“My wife was very energetic,” he said at the press conference. “She did a lot of things for other people and it’s a tragedy to lose her.”

People with information are asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department’s San Fernando Valley traffic detectives at (818) 756-8391.