A Panorama City man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of hit-and-run when police found items in his vehicle that could have belonged to a 72-year-old man fatally struck by a car earlier that morning in North Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Adrian Cervantes, 21, was driving solo when he rolled over his vehicle on the I-5 Freeway south of the 2 Freeway about two hours after the old man, who has yet to be identified, was hit in the 8100 block of Lankershim Boulevard, said Sgt. Larry Jones.
The elderly victim was on foot while crossing Lankershim when he was hit by a black GMC S15 pick-up truck, according to a press release from the LAPD. He was not in the crosswalk, City News Service reports.
Cervantes, who also drives a GMC truck, crashed his vehicle on the I-5 near Newell Street, said California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada. He was not driving under the influence at the time of the collision, she said.
Cervantes was transported to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for injuries from the I-5 Freeway collision, Jones said.
During an investigation of the hit-and-run, officers found items in Cervantes' vehicle that possibly belong to the elderly victim, a press release read.
Cervantes also made incriminating statements that led to arrest, Jones said.
However, the sergeant told NBC4 he's not sure why Cervantes had those items in his vehicle. It's possible he may have stopped at the scene of the hit and run and took some of the victim's belongings that were scattered in the street, he told NBC4.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for more details.
An earlier version of this story reported that LAPD officers said they believed Cervantes may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, but he was actually sober, according to a CHP investigation.
