Two brothers struck by stolen truck while biking to work in Koreatown; one killed, one hurt
A 20-year-old man was killed and his brother was injured when both were struck by the driver of a stolen pickup truck in Koreatown early Tuesday morning. The driver sped away and remains on the loose.
The collision occurred at 3:40 a.m. in the area of Olympic Boulevard and Mariposa Avenue.
Los Angeles police believe the brothers were on their way to work when they were hit. According to officers, the suspect jumped into a stolen white pickup truck that was parked along the curb and struck the brothers as he was pulling out.
One brother died at the scene and the second was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Their family identified the deceased to CBSLA as Leonidas Accip.
"I miss him, my brother," said Alfredo Accip, a bother of the victims at a memorial Tuesday night. "I miss him so much."
Neighbors are horrified and say more should be done to protect cyclists in the area.
"Everything prioritizes car traffic and vehicles and I mean it's terrible," said neighbor Nick Emmons.
"It's sad, it's truly heartbreaking, two individuals just trying to go to work, make a living, their day starts and ends like this," LAPD Officer Anthony Otero said. "It's unfortunate, you feel for their families. We do have a crisis response team whose gonna be working with the families, try to work through the emotions they feel on this loss."
Otero added that there was a tagging incident which occurred in the same area at about the same time as the crash. Police are investigating whether the suspects in the tagging were in any way connected to the hit-and-run.
There was no immediate description of the driver. Otero said there are security cameras in the area and investigators are hoping that the cameras captured footage of the suspect or the truck speeding away.
No description was available of the suspect. Anyone with information on the case was urged to call West Traffic Division detectives at 213-473-0234, or 877-LAPD-247.
A reward of up to $50,000 is available to people who provide information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a hit-and-run driver.
