CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES COUNTY
A 19-year-old driver has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian crossing Imperial Highway in the Athens district, the California Highway Patrol said Saturday.
The driver, Julio Santa Cruz of Los Angeles, allegedly sped away from the accident, but witnesses chased down his silver 2001 BMW less than a mile away and persuaded him to return.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office identified the victim as 51-year-old Lazaro Miranda.
He was crossing the westbound lanes of Imperial Highway near New Hampshire Avenue in the unincorporated Athens area shortly before 10:15 p.m. Friday when he was hit. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
-- Alan Zarembo
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