Hit-Run Victim Identified; Witness to Incident Sought

Police on Wednesday identified an 81-year-old woman killed by a hit-run driver and said they were looking for a woman who briefly chased the fleeing killer.

The dead woman was identified as Daisey Story, 81, who was struck by a pickup truck Sunday on Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills.

Witnesses said the driver stopped briefly and then drove off, police said.

Los Angeles police are looking for a woman who had been at a Thrifty Mart down the block and followed the fleeing pickup driver onto the southbound San Diego Freeway in her van, said Detective Jodi Wakefield. “I desperately need to talk to her,” Wakefield said.

Police are also looking for another witness, a man who was driving behind the pickup and swerved to avoid hitting the fallen Story.

Story was on her way to the supermarket to buy ground beef for her dog at 5:30 a.m. that morning in a regular ritual, Wakefield said. But this time, instead of crossing Sepulveda at the Devonshire Street crosswalk, she jaywalked and was hit. “She was visible, though,” Wakefield said.

The pickup was described as black or dark blue Ford Ranger with a chrome panel on the tailgate, a tinted rear window and a California license plate that included the letters and numerals 4G4 or 4X4.

The driver stopped momentarily, speaking with what sounded like an Armenian or Iranian accent while asking a witness to dial 911, Wakefield said. He followed the witness into a store and left as the man began to call for help, Wakefield said.

Story died at Holy Cross Medical Center four hours later.