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Pedestrian killed by 2 drivers in Oakland, 1 arrested
Neighbors in East Oakland are demanding justice after a pedestrian was killed in a deadly hit-and-run crash Tuesday night. Officials say the two drivers responsible fled and now one has been arrested.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Neighbors in East Oakland are demanding justice after a deadly hit-and-run Tuesday night; they said the pedestrian – a fixture in the area – was killed by two drivers who fled the scene.
Police said they have arrested one person. A councilman said that person is a juvenile.
Neighbors said they're outraged at the drivers' disregard for human life.
"Where my car is parked, that's where Lupe was standing," neighbor Dawn Pryor said.
She added that her friend, Lupe, was killed along International Boulevard in the hit-and-run crash shortly before 10 p.m. Lupe has lived on the streets in that area for years.
Pryor said she last saw Lupe a half hour before the collision in front of Chapala Market, where she had asked for food.
"This is where Lupe would rest. All this is the area where she would stay," said Pryor, pointing to a pile of items on the sidewalk across from the market with remnants of yellow caution tape hanging close by.
Investigators said a vehicle with four people inside, hit a person in the roadway and that the impact pushed the victim into the path of a second vehicle.
The pedestrian, whom authorities have yet to formally identify, died at the scene.
The car became disabled. Everybody got out, abandoned the vehicle and ran away.
"The reality here is that half of these people here don't have driver's license," said City Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents this area.
Investigators said the car was stolen and the second vehicle that struck the victim, got away.
"Everybody has to have a little more respect for people because it was a person. It wasn't an animal," said Pryor.
Neighbors said Lupe struggled with addiction issues.
One man who did not want to give his name, said he works in the area and that Lupe was a fixture in the neighborhood,
"She was cleaning the parking lot, cleaning the street, walking around. Everybody need respect. I feel bad. Somebody hit-and-run," the man said.
People in the neighborhood said the area is dangerous, that pedestrians and drivers often disregard traffic signals.
While a KTVU crew was at the crash scene speaking with Gallo, he pointed out the problem.
"Look," he said. "They're all running red lights speeding. The only way behavior's going to change is by enforcement."
As for Pryor, she said: "We need to find justice. This person that did this, they need to turn themselves in."
Gallo said to make the area safer. Police and the CHP will start conducting DUI checkpoints this weekend to step up enforcement.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.