Authorities have identified a person of interest in a fatal, allegedly intentional hit-and-run crash in the parking lot of BMO Stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles late last week that claimed the life of a teenage boy.
The deadly Nov. 22 encounter started, according to investigators with the California Highway Patrol, started around 4:30 p.m. with an altercation between a group of 40 bicyclists and a motorist in a blue BMW on Figueroa Street, north of Martin Luther Jr. King Boulevard.
Details are limited and it’s unclear what led to the confrontation, but the situation continued into the parking lot of BMO Stadium, on Exposition Park property, where “he was struck by a separate vehicle, identified as as a black Honda sedan,” CHP said in updated news release Sunday evening.
The teen, identified by family members as Jonathan Flores, was declared dead at the scene.
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Police tape seen around a bicycle after a fatal hit-and-run crash in the BMO Stadium parking lot on Nov. 22, 2024. (KTLA) -
People seen holding one another after a deadly hit-and-run claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy in Exposition Park on Nov. 22, 2024. (KTLA) -
People seen holding one another after a deadly hit-and-run claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy in Exposition Park on Nov. 22, 2024. (KTLA) -
A small memorial near the site of Jonathan Flores’ death on Nov. 22, 2024. (KTLA) -
Cyclists seen in the parking lot of BMO Stadium in this undated photo. (KTLA)
A day later, on Nov. 23, CHP detectives issued a search warrant at an L.A. residence believed to be associated the suspect where they seized two vehicles, a blue 2021 BMW sedan and a black 2018 Honda Accord.
“During the investigation, a 28-year-old Hispanic male from Los Angeles was identified as a person of interest who is believed to have been the driver of the Honda Accord at the time it struck and killed the 16-year-old juvenile,” CHP added.
It is unclear if the 28-year-old has been taken into custody.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said that a crime like this would not happen if there were stricter punishments for hit-and-runs.
“The penalties for hit-and-run, road rage are laughable,” the community activist told KTLA. “It’s a misdemeanor with only a few days in jail. You’re talking about a major, not only felony – it should be – but loss of life and yet we have such lax enforcement.”
Investigators are urging anyone with information about the involved driver or the investigation itself to contact CHP’s Major Crime Unit at 323-644-9550 or the L.A. Communications Center at 323-259-3200 after normal business hours.
Authorities have identified a person of interest in a fatal, allegedly intentional hit-and-run crash in the parking lot of BMO Stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles late last week that claimed the life of a teenage boy. The deadly Nov. 22 encounter started, according to investigators with the California Highway Patrol, […]