Hunt Is On For Driver Who Hit-And-Ran After Striking Scooter, Injuring 2
SILVER LAKE (CBSLA) -- Officials are stepping up the hunt for a hit-and-run driver who struck and seriously hurt two men on a scooter Tuesday evening.
"It just breaks my heart that something like that happened," said Gabriel Ross.
The accident occurred just steps from the pre-school he owns in Silver Lake, The hit-and-run was partially caught on camera.
Ross told KCAL9's Jeff Nguyen that there are several schools nearby.
"I'd say within this little half-mile stretch, you have a couple thousand kids being served," Ross says.
Police said a gray 2010 BMW 5 series hit the rear of a scooter at the intersection of Glendale Boulevard and Waverly Drive – just before 9 p.m. Tuesday night
Two men on the scooter were knocked off and witnesses say the bike was wedged underneath the car and got pushed several hundred feet to the corner of Glendale and Rowena.
On the video, you can see the BMW backing up to free itself of the scooter before it goes around the bike.
Ted Toussaint and Hillary Reynolds say they passed by the crash site on their way home from dinner.
"Just evading it is –that's a very cowardly thing to do," says Reynolds.
Both of the men who were on the scooter were taken to the hospital.
Nguyen reported one of the men -- 35-year-old Edras Velasquez – is currently in a coma.
Police say the driver of the car is a man with a beard, with dark features, heavy set between 35-40 years old.
Detectives believe a woman was also in the front passenger seat.
In the meantime, Gabriel Ross and some neighbors have started a petition to add walkways or flashing lights for the crosswalk.
"Anything we can do to draw attention to pedestrian traffic, I think would save more lives," Ross says.
The family of the man in the coma said doctors told them he is unlikely to survive his injuries.
In the meantime, a $25,000 reward is being offered for information that will lead to an arrest.