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101-Year-Old Man Fatally Struck In Boyle Heights Hit-And-Run

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  —  Authorities said a 101-year-old man was fatally struck Wednesday by a hit-and-run driver in Boyle Heights.

Witnesses reportedly tracked a driver a short distance and held him until police arrived.

Officials said Jose Noriega was in a marked crosswalk when he was struck by the driver of a 1997 Chevy Astro van around 6 a.m. on Lorena Street at Opal.

Detective Felix Padilla of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Traffic Division said the driver fled, but witnesses blocked him in a short distance from the accident.

Noriega was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just before 8 a.m.

Authorities identified the man suspected of being the driver as Ricardo Avalos, 41, of Los Angeles. He was booked at the Metropolitan Detention Center on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, Padilla said.

Detectives are looking for additional witnesses.

Bail was set at $50,000.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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