CANOGA PARK : Police Seek Driver Who Fled Accident

Los Angeles police were searching Thursday for the driver of a car that killed a man apparently trying to commit suicide by sitting in the middle of Roscoe Boulevard in Canoga Park.

Hitting the 29-year-old Canoga Park man who sat down in traffic lanes on Roscoe near Topanga Canyon Boulevard was not a crime, Detective Bill Osuna said. But by fleeing the scene, the driver committed a felony, he said.

Osuna added that the driver, if found, will face manslaughter charges.

“We would have never found him at fault for hitting someone in the middle of the night, particularly when they were sitting in the street,” Officer Tim Meicher said. But now “he’s a party to the accident.”

Osuna said the driver left the 1982 Dodge Aries at the scene and fled on foot.

Witnesses told police that William Gaglari was in his apartment on Roscoe Boulevard with friends when he told them he was going out to get cigarettes, Meicher said.

One friend followed Gaglari and saw him sit down in the eastbound lane of Roscoe closest to the curb, his back to oncoming traffic, Meicher said.

Police said Gaglari spoke briefly to his friend before the car struck and killed him.