Suspect arrested for deadly hit-and-run in Exposition Park while family members mourn teen killed
While police announced an arrested in a deadly hit-and-run crash possibly stemming from road rage last week, family members continue to mourn the loss of the South Los Angeles teenager who was struck and killed outside of BMO Stadium.
Jonathan Flores, just 16, was riding his bike with a group of friends in Exposition Park on Friday night when California Highway Patrol detectives say a driver accelerated towards them, striking and killing him.
They say that Jonathan was a great kid who did nothing to deserve dying the way he did. Flores was in 11th grade at a South Los Angeles high school where he was both an athlete and an honor roll student, family members say.
"Tragedy number one: the fact that you have a teen, a loss of life," said Earl Ofari Hutchison, a well-known community activist during a press conference on Sunday. "The second tragedy: no one's come forward. Now, this is a busy area here. Many people saw something. No reports — nothing."
Investigators believe that the suspect followed the group of bicyclists into the parking lot after some sort of altercation just before killing Jonathan.
Hutchison says that deadly hit-and-run incidents like this, for which California leads the nation, should come with stricter penalties.
"So, it's really a warning. It could be your son or daughter, or anyone's son or daughter today or tomorrow. You have to be engaged. You have to be involved, we gotta get the killer off the street," he said.
Friends of Flores told KCAL News that he did nothing wrong, and that another of the bicyclists may have hit his car's side mirror.
On Sunday evening, CHP investigators announced that the suspect, a 28-year-old male, was arrested when they served a search warrant at a home in Los Angeels.
"Two vehicles were seized as evidence, including a blue 2021 BMW sedan and a black 2018 Honda Accord," police said. They have not yet identified the suspect, but say that they believe he was behind the wheel of the Honda that killed Flores.
