Uber Driver Killed, Passenger Hurt In Leimert Park Hit-And-Run
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – An Uber driver was killed and a passenger was critically injured in a two-vehicle collision early Saturday morning in Leimert Park.
The crash was reported just after 4 a.m. at the intersection of Arlington Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to a desk officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's South Traffic Bureau.
Two occupants of the Uber were trapped and had to be extricated.
Police told KCAL9 that the other driver abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot. Two people were seen running from the crash scene, police said. The case was being investigated as a hit-and-run.
The Uber driver --- now identified as 52-year-old Folesha Parker-Iverson of Fontana -- died at the scene. The passenger was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, Margaret Stewart with the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
It was unclear what caused the crash.
Saturday an Uber spokesperson issued the following statement:
"We are devastated to hear of this tragic accident. Our deepest thoughts are with all who are mourning the loss of their loved one."
Saturday evening, the driver who reportedly fled the scene was in custody. The passenger was at large.
KCAL9's Jennifer Kastner spoke to Parker-Iverson's friends Saturday night.
They described the victim as a hard-working single mom who thought nothing of working, 2 or 3 jobs to support her family, including daughters aged 18 and 22.
Family attorney Catherine Lombardo says the daughters, of course, are devastated.
"They relied on their mother. They lived with their mother. She helped guide them and support them through life cause they're just starting out," Lombardo said, "In fact, that's why Folesha was working the second job, in addition to her full-time career, was to help put her kids through school."
Parker-Iverson was a counselor at a Fontana high school as well as a driver for Uber and Lyft.
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