LAUSD teacher arrested in caught-on-video hit-and-run that put bicyclist in hospital

A Los Angeles Unified School District teacher has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run in Silver Lake that left a bicyclist severely injured in October, Los Angeles police said.

Molly Jane Hoene, 52, was arrested around 8 a.m. Tuesday at the Silver Sands Racquet Club in Palm Desert. According to jail records, she was released that same evening on $50,000 bond.

A week before Hoene’s arrest, the Los Angeles County district’s attorney’s office charged her with felony hit-and-run with severe bodily injury.

Authorities identified Hoene as the driver of the Mini Cooper that slammed into the bicyclist in the middle of a road in Silver Lake about 11:45 p.m. Oct. 25.

Video of the crash shows a vehicle turning on a bend in the 3000 block of Berkeley Avenue and moving toward an oncoming bicyclist, who stops seconds before the car slams into him. The bicyclist is thrown into the air, with the impact flinging his belongings onto the street as the car speeds out of sight.

“Drivers are reminded that if they become involved in a collision, they should pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so, notify emergency services and remain at the scene to identify themselves,” the LAPD said in a statement at the time.

The victim, a homeless man identified as David Molina, was admitted to a hospital with severe injuries. As of last Wednesday, he remained hospitalized.

Five days after the crash, on Oct. 30, detectives received a tip that a vehicle was at a collision repair shop in Glendale. The car was impounded and forensically processed. The LAPD identified the driver the following day as an LAUSD employee.

Previous media reports showed that Hoene was a teacher at Ivanhoe Elementary School. On Monday, officials there directed comments to the school district, which said Monday that Hoene “remains unassigned from the classroom.”

Hoene is not listed on the school’s website. According to local news outlet the Eastsider, principal Lynda Rescia sent a message to parents last week informing them that crisis counselors would be at school Monday morning.