Los Angeles, California – A dramatic turn of events unfolded as police successfully apprehended the alleged driver responsible for a fatal motorcycle crash in North Hills on Thursday. The incident involved a hit-and-run, leaving a motorcyclist dead at the scene.
The tragic collision occurred around 6:40 P.M. in the 8600 block of Woodley Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Preliminary investigations by detectives revealed that the victim, riding a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, was exiting a driveway when a white 1992 BMW, driven by the suspect, came speeding down the road and struck the motorcycle. The impact was so powerful that it forced the motorcyclist into a parked vehicle along the side of the road.
Rather than stopping to render aid or await law enforcement, the driver of the BMW continued southeast and collided with another parked car. After the second collision, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene on foot, leaving behind both the injured motorcyclist and a passenger inside the car.
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Tragically, paramedics pronounced the motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, deceased at the accident site. His identity has not yet been disclosed.
In a significant development, investigators managed to locate the suspect, identified as 30-year-old San Fernando Valley resident Sandro Edgardo Mendieta, on Friday.
“Valley Traffic Detectives worked tirelessly to identify the suspect, and learned he was attempting to flee the country to avoid arrest,” stated LAPD.
Mendieta was apprehended near the Mexico border and taken into custody. He has been booked on suspicion of murder and is currently being held on $2 million bail.
The arrest of the suspect brings a glimmer of closure to this heartbreaking incident, while the community mourns the loss of the motorcyclist and hopes for justice to be served.
