Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Man in Street
Santa Ana police Sunday were seeking a hit-and-run driver whose car struck and killed an Anaheim man as he crossed a street late Saturday, police said.
The accident occurred at 9:50 p.m. in the 1600 block of South Euclid Street. Witnesses described the car that hit Victor Hugo Chavez, 34, as a black, mid-1990s Honda or Acura. It was last seen heading south on Euclid.
Chavez is the sixth pedestrian killed by a car in Santa Ana this year. There were five killed last year. This comes despite police increasing enforcement of jaywalking and driver violations.
The accident occurred during a several-hour period in which police were making a special effort to ticket jaywalkers, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Chavez.
Victor Chavez was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died of head injuries, officials said.
The city in March began a major enforcement effort that includes more jaywalking patrols and a public-education campaign targeting the city’s Latino population. Police have issued more than 1,500 jaywalking citations since the crackdown began and more than 250 tickets to motorists who failed to yield to pedestrians.
A recent UC Irvine study found the city had the highest pedestrian death rate in Southern California.
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