Witnesses Say SUV Fatally Struck Bicyclist On Purpose In Exposition Park Road Rage Incident
EXPOSITION PARK (CBSLA.com) — A 35-year-old bicyclist died Thursday after being struck by a vehicle in Exposition Park.
Just before 9 a.m., officers were sent to 39th Street and Vermont Avenue for report of a hit-and-run collision, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Upon their arrival, authorities pronounced a male bicyclist dead at the scene.
The victim's identity is being withheld pending family notification.
A preliminary investigation revealed a light colored SUV struck the victim and fled before officers arrived to the scene.
Officers said the suspect vehicle sustained damage to the driver side mirror.
KCAL9's Amy Johnson reported from the scene and spoke to eyewitnesses to the accident.
"I'm still shaking- it was terrible," said one woman who didn't want to be identified.
"The guy was in the middle of the tires it was terrible," she added.
Witnesses said the bicyclist and SUV driver got into an argument as they headed north on Vermont at 39th Street.
"The driver was [going] beep beep and the bicycle showed his middle finger the driver was mad," the witness said.
She says it soon became physical and the two hit and pushed each other as they traveled and the bicyclist broke the side mirror on the SUV.
"They were fighting. He cut them off kept going, on purpose in my opinion" said Gerardo Ramirez who was waiting at the bus stop.
"He even told him he was going to run him over And he did," Ramirez said.
Police markers show where the bicyclist was hit and then dragged. The suspect drove away with the bike still under his wheels.
Police are still looking for the suspect and the bicycle that the victim was riding.
If you have any information about the accident, you're asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department.
