Leads sought in three fatal L.A.-area hit-and-run collisions

It was a deadly weekend for pedestrians in the Los Angeles region, with police seeking the public’s help in identifying the drivers involved in three fatal hit-and-run collisions.

In one incident, a 19-year-old woman was struck and killed in South Los Angeles early Sunday morning in what a witness described as a possible road rage incident or street race, police said.

The woman, identified by Los Angeles County coroner’s officials as Djenaba Michell Ejukwa-Williams, was crossing Central Avenue at 120th Street when she was hit by a dark-colored Ford Taurus heading north, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Jeremy Duncan.

The force of the impact was “so significant” that one of her feet was severed, he said.

Ejukwa-Williams had been walking eastbound in a marked crosswalk, but she was crossing against the light, witnesses told police.

She died at the scene, Duncan said.

A witness told police that the Taurus closely trailed a silver SUV, both of which appeared to be traveling at about 70 mph. The speed limit on that road is 35 mph.

The driver fled the scene, Duncan said, though police recovered a bumper that may have been left by the suspect’s car.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the LAPD’s South Traffic Division at (323) 421-2540.

A 22-year-old Van Nuys man was also killed Sunday when he was struck by a car while retrieving his Ford Focus from a restaurant valet in Sherman Oaks. His identity was not released pending notification of his family.

Police are looking for the driver of a newer model silver Hyundai sedan that was heading westbound on Ventura Boulevard west of Kester Avenue where the collision occurred early in the morning.

And on Saturday, a 35-year-old Santa Monica man was also struck and killed on Ventura Boulevard this weekend, officials said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was walking northbound across Ventura Boulevard east of Fairway Avenue in Studio City at 11:42 p.m. when he was hit by an eastbound car, according to the LAPD.

Police are still searching for the driver of the car, which is believed to be a white Mercedes CLS with black paper plates reading “Encino” in yellow writing. The vehicle sustained major damage on its front end, officials said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information about either of these incidents is asked to call the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division at (818) 644-8037.

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jill.cowan@latimes.com

Twitter: @jillcowan