Woman Involved In South LA Crash Shot And Killed Minutes After Shooting Just Blocks Away
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A woman involved in a three-car crash was shot and killed Wednesday, just a few blocks from another shooting in South Los Angeles.
The collision happened at the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and San Pedro just after 11 a.m. Three cars were apparently involved in the crash, and several bullet holes were seen in the windshield of a maroon car.
"It just happened so quick, a car flew by me and crashed and then a second comes right behind and crashes," said a male witness who did not want to be identified. He added that after that after the crash, he saw a man in the maroon car that needed help.
"I saw he was clearly in pain and looked like he was fighting for his life. So, I got out of my truck and I wanted to make sure he got the attention he needed," the witness said.
When officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrived, they found that two people in the maroon vehicle had been shot. The man was later taken to the hospital, but the woman died at the scene.
Family and friends identified her as 53-year-old Cynthia Hairston, and said that the man who shot her and the other victim was her ex-boyfriend, who she reportedly had a restraining order against.
"Cynthia was a beautiful lady," said Pastor Joyce Williams, Harrison's godmother. "She just got caught up with this guy and they broke up and he couldn't accept it. So, he just stalked her and did what he did. He did do time in the pen. He got out. I don't know why."
Police said that after the crash, the gunman was able to to drive off in his mangled gray vehicle. Detectives worked to piece together the circumstances of the shooting.
"We will look at the ballistic evidence and the evidence from the traffic collision, but we just simply don't know if this was a car-to-car shooting or if the suspect walked up on the victim after the victim crashed. We don't know that information at this point," Lt. Ryan Rabbett, with LAPD Central Bureau Homicide, said.
Just before the collision, police say there was a shooting reported at 10:50 a.m. at 21st and Central, a few blocks away. Police have cordoned off the area, and bullet casings have been marked on the ground by investigators. Both scenes could involve the same gunman.
"I just ask that justice be done in the right way," the victim's godmother said.
Police have expanded their search for the suspect, who has not officially been identified, but they are getting information from the victim's family members. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact LAPD's Central Bureau Homicide.