Thread: Manhunt Intensifies for a Hit & Run Driver

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?secti ... id=3954397

Manhunt Intensifies for a Hit & Run Driver
NORWALK - Authorities today sought the owner of a pickup truck that struck a Norwalk crossing and dragged him for 45 feet, leaving him seriously injured.

The man being sought for questioning is Jose Francisco Valez Serano, said Lt. Doug Fetteroll of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk Station.

The crossing guard, 50-year-old Jaime Meza of Whittier, a contract employee of the city of Norwalk, was struck around 7 yesterday morning at Rosecrans and Greenstone avenues, near John Glenn High School, said sheriff's Sgt. Brian Doyle.

Meza was working in an area where students cross Rosecrans Avenue, Doyle said.

Meza was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he initially was listed in critical condition with head injuries and a broken leg. His condition this morning was described as serious, deputies said.

After Meza was struck, the driver of the red Toyota pickup truck got out of the vehicle and ran into the neighborhood, Doyle said.

Deputies were led to Serrano's home on 168th Street in Artesia by a police dog, but he wasn't home, said Deputy Jeff Tibbetts of the Norwalk Sheriff's Station said.

The pickup's registered owner showed deputies papers indicating he had sold the vehicle to Serano on Sunday, Tibbetts said.

Serano showed the truck's previous owner personal papers that included an identification card from the Mexican consulate, Tibbetts said.

Serano was described as about 6 feet tall, 140 pounds, and was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue baseball cap and dark pants.

Anyone with information about Serano's whereabouts was asked to call the sheriff's Norwalk Station at (562) 863-8711.

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_3560511

Truck driver flees after hitting man
Crossing guard in critical condition
By Pam Wight Staff Writer
Whittier Daily News

NORWALK - A 50-year-old Whittier man working at his crossing guard job Wednesday morning was critically injured when he stepped off the curb and was hit by a truck, police said.
Using a bloodhound, authorities later traced the truck's owner to an apartment in Artesia, 3 miles from the scene. But the suspected driver was not there. Police were looking for the man Wednesday night.

The crossing guard, Jamie Meza, was hospitalized at County-USC Medical Center in critical but stable condition with severe head injuries. He was reportedly drifting in and out of consciousness, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Jeff Tibbetts.

At about 7 a.m., Meza stepped off the curb to help a bicyclist across busy Rosecrans Avenue at Greenstone Avenue and was hit by a red Toyota pickup truck, Tibbets said.

When the truck hit Meza, his shirt got caught on the vehicle's front fender. Meza was then dragged into the intersection, where the truck ran him over, Tibbets said.

According to witnesses, the driver pulled to the side of the street, then reached into the truck to retrieve some belongings.

As people gathered around Meza to help, the driver walked off, heading west on Rosecrans. He left the keys to the truck in the ignition, Tibbets said.

"We turned around and \ was gone," said Rudy Perez, a nearby resident who witnessed the collision. "People had gotten out of their cars to help and we were all busy trying to call 9-1-1 and to help the poor guy."

Alicia Villarreal, 35, of Norwalk, the bicyclist Meza was assisting, said she was stunned.

"He always helps me to cross the street and asks me to please get off my bike," Villarreal said. "I talk to him all the time and he tells me he doesn't want me to get hurt. He's a really good guy."

Carlos Ramos, director of public safety for Norwalk, said Meza is employed by All-City Management Services, a company that supplies crossing guards to the city through a contract.

Tibbets said investigators believe the driver's name is Jose Francisco Velez Serrano, who is between 30 and 40 years old. Investigators believe Serrano is a Mexican national.

Ramos said the pickup was registered to Serrano.

A bloodhound led investigators from the truck to an apartment in the 12000 block of 168th Street.

"The trail ended there," Ramos said.

Perez said he turned when he heard screeching brakes and saw Meza crumpled in the middle of the intersection, a pool of blood near his head, his watch and whistle lying nearby.

"It was sad," Perez said. "This is a very dangerous intersection, especially around 2:30, 3o'clock, when the kids are coming from school. We petitioned about 20 years ago for a light, but they told us it was too close to another light."

Rosecrans at Greenstone, which is used by students heading to and from nearby John Glenn High School, has been a concern for city officials for years, said Ramos.

But since no serious accidents had occurred prior to Wednesday's incident, city officials had not aggressively pursued installing a traffic light at the corner, he added.

"That's why we have crossing guards there," Ramos said. "But cities usually evaluate an intersection after a major accident and see if it warrants a light."

Bill Seals, assistant principal at John Glenn High, said that although he did not know Meza personally, "his was a face recognizable to many students and teachers."

Meza is unmarried. His parents and two sisters were with him at the hospital, Tibbets said.

Serrano is described as a male Latino, about 6 feet tall, about 200 pounds with a medium build. Tibbets urged anyone with information about Serrano to call him at (562)863-8711, Ext. 5441.

pam.wight@sgvn.com

(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3029