Tragic Hit-and-Run Claims Lives of Young Child and Man in Playa del Rey

Hit-and-Run Crash Claims Life of 1-Year-Old and Man in Playa del Rey

A tragic hit-and-run incident in Playa del Rey has resulted in the deaths of a 1-year-old child and a man, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

The collision occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday near the 6800 block of South Vista Del Mar, where two vehicles were involved in a crash. Following the incident, the driver of one vehicle fled the scene towards the beach.

One vehicle contained two adults and the child. A man, estimated to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. The child and a woman, also in her 30s, were transported to a nearby hospital, but the child later succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash.

Cory Cooper, a local resident, recounted his distressing attempt to assist the injured child. “When I walked up to the accident, there were some people already there and there was a man holding the child,” Cooper said. “It didn’t look like the child was doing well, so we gave him CPR, waited for 911, and then they pulled out another passenger while we were giving CPR, and she didn’t look good, either.”

As a father of two, Cooper called 911 and received instructions on administering CPR. He described a harrowing moment when another woman arrived at the scene, holding the child and trying to keep him warm. “(She) ran over and was holding the child and trying to get him warm, saying, ‘He’s still warm. He’s still warm,’” Cooper recalled. “We held the baby and we tried to give the baby CPR for as long as we could, as best as we could, until the ambulance got there.”

“It’s something you don’t wish on anybody, but that was awful,” he added.

The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. Meanwhile, LAPD is actively pursuing the hit-and-run driver, described as a 25-year-old man, who was driving a white Jeep. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.