Tow Truck Driver Leads Police To Suspect In Fatal Hit-And-Run
VAN NUYS (CBSLA) — A possibly drunk driver who may have fatally hit a bicyclist in Van Nuys is in custody Thursday, thanks to a quick-thinking tow truck driver.
The crash at Haskell Avenue and Stagg Street happened at about 3 a.m. Police say the driver never stopped, but the sight of the heavily damaged red sedan made tow truck driver Alex Hernandez do a double take.
"The windshield and the damage on the car," he said of what made him realize something was wrong. "Even though it never came on the scanner that it said that somebody was a hit-and-run case, right away, when I saw the car, it clicked."
The red sedan had sustained major front-end damage and had a dented and shattered windshield.
Instincts made Hernandez follow the man for about a mile, to a parking structure where he blocked him in with his tow truck and called 911. The driver did jump out of the car and tell Hernandez to get out of the way.
"That's when I noticed he was intoxicated," Hernandez said.
Los Angeles police took a man into custody at the second location and booked him on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and DUI.
Police say the bicyclist who was killed was a 38-year-old man who was believed to be a resident nearby the crash site.