mobanmarketLOS ANGELES, CA — A young couple was killed in a high-speed hit-and-run crash in South Los Angeles Sunday, and the hit-and-run driver was arrested after witnesses followed him, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The crash happened just after 12:40 a.m. Sunday at 3998 S. Normandie Avenue where a young couple in a BMW was exiting the Burger Factory drive-thru, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department and multiple reports. As they pulled out, a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon driven by Elmer Santos, 31, plowed into them at a high rate of speed, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Kevin Castillo, 20, of Pomona, and Maria Polanco Aviles, 20, of Los Angeles died at the scene.
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Santos fled the scene on foot and was later arrested at his home, authorities said.
He was booked on suspicion of murder, LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno told City News Service on Monday morning. Santos was being held on $2 million bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.
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“After the collision, the driver fled immediately on foot,” Moreno told reporters earlier. “There were witnesses that basically gave chase, followed him, tried to stay within eyesight of the suspect, which eventually led to his being taken into custody.”
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One person at the scene who heard the crash estimated to ABC7 that the Jeep was going as fast as 80 mph. The station also reported that police were looking into whether alcohol and/or nearby street racing activity were factors in the crash.
Polanco was a student at USC, according to KTLA.
“For all that to be taken away within an instant, I don’t know. It just makes me angry,” Polanco’s stepbrother, David Chame, told KTLA
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
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