Jul 7, 2008 10:27 pm US/Pacific
Cops Hunt Hit-And-Run Driver Who Left Man Dead
LOS ANGELES
Police say a hit-and-run driver fled the scene of an accident in South Los Angeles leaving his passenger dead in the back seat of the Acura he was driving.
Police Sgt. Frank Feliciano of the South Traffic Division said the crash occured just after 2 a.m. Saturday on Normandie Avenue at 26th Street.
According to Feliciano, a 1994 gray Acura Integra was going southbound on Normandie Avenue when it hit a vehicle that was stopped at the left turn lane at Normandie Avenue.
Following that collision, the Acura sped away southbound, reportedly at speeds of 70 to 80 miles and out of control, before hitting a truck parked at the west curb at Normandie Avenue and 36th Place.
The driver of the Acura and a front seat passenger fled the scene, failing to render aid to a passenger in the rear seat, who died at the scene, Feliciano said.
Monday, police identified that driver as Jesus Alexander Mejia Escalante, 26.
They also identified the dead passenger as Cecillo Flores, 22.
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