Suspected hit-run driver dies in separate collision in Laguna Beach

A woman involved a hit-and-run crash in Rancho Mission Viejo Wednesday was fatally struck in a separate collision after exiting the vehicle in Laguna Beach, according to police.

Officers responded to the fatal crash just after 7 p.m. Wednesday on El Toro Road south of the 73 Toll Road overpass, according to the Laguna Beach Police Department.

First responders aided a 46-year-old woman, who was rushed to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.

Her name was not immediately released.

Investigators suspect the woman was behind the wheel of a U-Haul truck involved in a hit-and-run crash earlier that day in Rancho Mission Viejo, police said. The other driver trailed her as she fled and parked the truck next to the roadway, blocking the outbound lane of El Toro.

The woman got out of the truck and was “walking inbound on El Toro Road” as passersby attempted to move the truck out of the way, police said. She was then hit by a vehicle while crossing El Toro.

The driver who struck her remained on scene and cooperated with investigators, police said. Investigators do not suspect drugs or alcohol factored into the deadly collision with the pedestrian.