$2,000 Offered for Info on Hit-and-Run

Laguna Beach police are seeking witnesses to a hit-and-run accident on Pacific Coast Highway last November that took the life of a Clovis man who was visiting the city.

Chad Frantzich, 25, was killed at 7:44 p.m. Nov. 26 when he was struck by a white or cream-colored full-size Ford truck as he tried to cross the highway near Mountain Avenue, Officer John O’Connor said.

The victim’s family has offered a $2,000 reward to anyone who comes forward with information that leads to the arrest of the driver of the truck.

A longtime friend who was with Frantzich said she glimpsed the truck and saw the first three digits of the license plate: 5H2. She told police there might also be an 8 on the plate, O’Connor said.

Frantzich was in Laguna Beach to visit his friend when the accident occurred, O’Connor said. The two had stopped in their car on the highway, and she waited for him as he went to a record store across the street, O’Connor said.

She heard a skid and thud, saw the truck stop briefly and then head south on the highway, O’Connor said. Another witness also saw the accident. Both told police that there were two people in the truck.

Anyone with any information on the accident can call Sgt. Mike Hall at (714) 497-0307 or O’Connor at (714) 497-0397.