LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles police are looking for a driver and passenger who ran from a hit-and-run crash in Hyde Park that killed a 16-year-old boy and seriously injured his 14-year-old sister Tuesday night.
The siblings were crossing the street with their mother near West 60th Street and South 10th Avenue when a blue sedan struck them around 9:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The car then hit a parked vehicle before the driver and passenger fled on foot.
Police said the boy died at the scene. His sister was taken to a hospital, where family members said she is stable and expected to undergo surgery for a fractured pelvis.
Police say blue sedan ran the stop sign before the impact
Video from the scene appears to show the sedan speeding through the intersection and running a stop sign just before the collision. Screams are heard in the footage moments after the impact.
Family members said the mother managed to pull the girl out of the way, but could not get the boy clear in time. Eliseo Martinez Hernandez, the victims’ older brother, described the crash as sudden and violent.
He said a firefighter told the family the car may have been going at least 40 mph. Police have not publicly confirmed that speed, but they continue to investigate how fast the vehicle was traveling and how the crash unfolded.
Family says the sister is stable and facing surgery
Relatives identified the injured children as siblings in the Martinez Hernandez family. Eliseo Martinez Hernandez said his sister remains in stable condition and will need surgery for her pelvis after the crash.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover medical bills and funeral costs. The campaign reflects the immediate financial strain that often follows a sudden traffic death, especially when one child is hospitalized and another has died.
Eliseo Martinez Hernandez said his younger brother, Hernan, was talented and loved baking. He said the family believes Hernan had a bright future ahead of him.
Neighbors say speeding and stop-sign running are common nearby
People who live near the intersection said dangerous driving is not unusual in the area. Frexinet Davis told Eyewitness News that drivers often ignore the stop sign and move through the crossing as if it were a green light.
Davis said motorists rarely slow down and sometimes race toward Crenshaw. Her description points to a broader concern among residents about traffic behavior in the neighborhood, particularly at intersections where pedestrians are crossing.
For neighbors, the crash reinforced fears that speeding has become routine. For the Martinez Hernandez family, it turned a familiar street into the scene of a devastating loss.
Search continues for the woman behind the wheel and her passenger
Police said the driver was a woman and the passenger was a man. Both got out of the blue sedan and fled after the collision, and no arrests have been made.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact police as they continue trying to identify the pair and piece together the moments before and after the crash.
The case remains active as detectives work from witness accounts, video, and the damaged vehicle left behind. For now, the family is left mourning a teenager and supporting another child recovering from severe injuries.
What the crash means for Hyde Park pedestrians
The deadly collision has renewed attention on pedestrian safety in Hyde Park, where residents say drivers sometimes fail to stop at crosswalks and stop signs. The crash happened at night, when visibility can be more limited and reaction times matter even more.
Police have not said whether they believe alcohol, distraction, or other factors played a role. They have also not said when they expect to release more details about the suspect vehicle or the people who ran away.
For the family, the priority is now recovery, burial arrangements, and finding the driver and passenger responsible for the crash.