Fatal South LA Hit-And-Run Caught On Camera
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A search continued Saturday for the driver in a fatal hit-and-run crash in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
The collision occurred Friday night in the 6300 block of Crenshaw Boulevard, claiming the life of a victim friends identify as Diane Dupree-Phillips.
By morning, a small but growing memorial for the 57-year-old woman was visible along Crenshaw Boulevard.
Part of the hit and run was caught on surveillance video, and police believe one of two sedans in the video, one dark in color and one lighter, belong to the suspect.
"The light hadn't changed yet. She was jay-walking, and it just happened all of a sudden, real fast," friend Kim Taylor-Williams said.
Residents say Dupree-Phillips lived a few blocks from the scene of the accident, and would often ask for change at the bus stop, though she would also give change when possible, even while struggling. This, friends say, was the reason behind leaving dollar bills along with their vigil candles.
"I was at home and I heard the helicopters," said Claudette Meeks, a resident. "[My sister] Sharon called me and told me that someone had got killed. And when they said it was a woman, I saw her earlier sitting in a chair by the laundry and I was like, 'Oh, I hope it wasn't her.' And then come to find out it was her. It's so sad."
Investigators said the vehicle has front-end damage.
Meanwhile, friends hope the suspect will turn himself or herself in to police.
"Please turn yourself in, because they have surveillance tape anyway," friend Tamara Fontaine said. "You don't hit nobody, not even an animal, and keep going."
Anyone with more information about this case was asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department or L.A. Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-TIPS.
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