The Long Beach Police Department issued an update on Monday for a Dec. 26 hit-and-run that turned fatal when the 78-year-old victim, Nikki Rash, died from her injuries on Jan. 4.
Detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect who investigators believe may have been driving while distracted when he ran a red light and T-boned Nikki’s car.
Nikki’s son, Chris Rash, told KTLA over the weekend that his mother was only blocks away from her home in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood when she was hit at the intersection of California Avenue and San Antonio Drive.
Investigators found that after the crash, the male suspect briefly stepped out of his car, but quickly got back in and drove away.
Officials have not released a suspect description, but his car is described as a tan-colored Toyota Avalon sedan. Surveillance video of the car showed notable front-end damage.
Police said that the victim, who family members identified as Nikki, declined medical treatment at the scene but transported herself to a medical facility a few hours after the crash.
“At that point in time, she was complaining of severe headache and neck pain,” said Chris.
Chris said when his family got to Nikki, she had no recollection of the collision after suffering a massive head injury.
The 78-year-old was in a coma after she underwent brain surgery and was placed on life support at Long Beach Memorial – one of the hospitals where Nikki’s former co-volunteer said she used to visit patients with her two rescue Labs, Dutch and Gabby.
Hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash is seen holding the paw of her rescued Labrador Retriever, Gabby, moments before her death. January 2025. (Chris Rash) 
Hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash is seen with her rescued Labrador Retriever, Gabby, in this undated photo. (Andrew Lesser) 
Hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash is seen in this undated photo. (Chris Rash) 
Hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash is seen in this undated photo. (Chris Rash) 
Hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash is seen holding the paw of her rescued Labrador Retriever, Gabby, moments before her death. January 2025. (Andrew Lesser)
“The nurses were very kind at the ICU,” said Andrew Lesser, president of Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue (SCLRR). “They gave special permission for Nikki’s service dog Gabby to visit with her.”
Loved ones told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo that Gabby was at Nikki’s side when she passed.
“The neck injury and brain injury she sustained, she was being kept alive on machines and so after 10 days we honored her health care directive,” said Nikki’s son, Chris Rash. “We let her go peacefully.”
Police ask anyone who witnessed the collision or can identify the suspect driver to call Long Beach police detective Ashley Van Holland at 562-570-7355. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
The Long Beach Police Department issued an update on Monday for a Dec. 26 hit-and-run that turned fatal when the 78-year-old victim, Nikki Rash, died from her injuries on Jan. 4. Detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect who investigators believe may have been driving while distracted when he ran a […]
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