Search underway for hit-and-run driver who fatally struck mother walking with son in Whittier

Authorities were searching for the driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that occurred Monday evening, when a woman was fatally struck while crossing the street with her son in Whittier. 

The collision occurred just after 10:15 p.m. in unincorporated South Whittier on Leffingwell Road and Corley Drive. 

According to Los Angeles County Fire Department, the two were crossing the street on their way to buy food at the liquor store in the area when the car, with did not have their headlights on, hit the woman. 

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have identified her as 53-year-old Lorraine Naranjo. 

Another person was rushed to a nearby trauma hospital, according to firefighters. They were unsure of the person's age or gender at the time of the report.

The driver fled from the area following the collision, leaving the woman in the middle of the street. 

California Highway Patrol officers handling the investigation located the suspect's vehicle nearly a mile-and-a-half away on Laurel Avenue near Meyer Road. 

The vehicle, a white Mercedes-Benz, had sustained considerable damage to its front end, including a shattered front windshield.

Officers were still searching for the suspect, who had also fled from this area before they could find the car.