Bus Hit and Run Kills Pedestrian

Los Angeles: A 31-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. 

On April 22, 2008, at 8:10 AM, a traffic fatality occurred when a female pedestrian, of Korean descent while walking through the intersection at New Hampshire Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard was struck by a yellow school bus as it made a left turn.  The driver of the bus never stopped to render aid and fled northbound on New Hampshire Avenue. 

The driver was described as a possible male Hispanic with long hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.  Witnesses described the bus to investigators as a newer model, yellow in color with a flat front end, approximately 40 feet in length.  The bus did not have any passengers at the time of the collision. 

The pedestrian identified as Vicky Noh of Los Angeles, died at the scene.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Central Traffic Detective Felix Padilla or Detective Tracy McClanahan at 213-972-1825.  During weekends and off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFUL (1-877-529-3855).

Comments

[Steve Rodriguez]

Thank you LA Times for finally mentioning the race of the suspect! That's one of the biggest assest in finding the culprit.

[Joanne]

A 40 foot school bus? I thought that those had to be checked out. How do you hide a 40 foot school bus? How does a 40 foot school bus vanish with no accountability? A woman dies, and you can't locate a 40 foot school bus? As a Los Angeles walker, who walks in that same intersection every morning at that same time, I am infuriated. People need to wake up, slow down, turn off their phones and drive with caution.

[sue]

So what was the follow up? Any news? Did they locate the bus or the driver? It seems like the story has been dropped, does this mean that the investigation was inconclusive? Seems strange that a 40 foot bus murders somebody and that there has been no word on anything.

[Rich]

It's time for the people of Los Angeles to take the streets back. How do pedestrians protect ourselves? There are millions of oblivious murderers behind the wheel everywhere in this city. Most of them don't deserve to drive, yet someone keeps allowing them to. What is it going to take for the LAPD to react stronger to people blatantly breaking the law. I am so confused, yesterday walking to the store, I watch a person dead center run a red light almost hitting me in the cross walk (and it wasn't one of those left hand L.A turns that everyone runs red). My life was threatened, and someone just broke the law. I look behind the car that ran the red light, and a police car was stopped watching the entire thing, but not reacting in any way. What is this??? So is it legal to drive through the red lights now? Please help me to understand this!!!

[Joe]

1. Wilshire and New Hampshire have many businesses with security cameras out front. All you have to do is look at the security cameras of the bus going along Wilshire until it made a turn on New Hampshire. Also, on New Hampshire there are businesses and apartments with security cameras. I am at a place with security cameras and no one has shown up to review the tapes--side note, my boss is not interested in reviewing the tapes either. Apathy.
2. The bus must have been checked out to someone. The supervisor must know who checked it out and by the description guess who it is. Of course, the supervisor and the school / company that owns the bus must be thinking of liability.
3. The bus was probably chartered by the organizers of the Earth Day event on Wilshire (for which Wilshire was later shut down). They should know who chartered it.
3a. The passengers on the bus (to Earth Day on Wilshire, or wherever they were going) must have known who the driver was from the description.
3b. Anyone later in the day who used the bus, or the next day(s) should have known who the driver was. (Unless he cut his ponytail).
4. The police and media have completely dropped this story (as of April 23, not a single mention can be found on any media). Why?!
5. The Korean community is incredibly apathetic about this as well (is it shameful to be hit?) Any other community would be outraged at the lack of cooperation at finding the person responsible for the death of a Korean. Also, it happened at the corner of the Korean Consulate building!
This is such a strange story!

[Ed O'Shea]

The only way to take this city back is to vote out these left-wing whacko's from our city government! That is the ONLY way!

[Joanne]

Joe, that is so true about the security cameras. So LAPD, what's going on????? Is anybody investigating on this murder?????

[PeekyPannie]

Rich: Most cops don't want to write people citations for running red lights because they don't want to go to traffic (kangaroo)court.

The compensation for it is minimal when the court date invariably lands on a day off.

Tough town.

[Wyatt Earp]

Organize Neighborhood Watch Groups; develop relationships with the Senior Lead Officer for your neighborhood. Do not to confront known gang members on your own....EVER! If you see a crime such as a hit and run, try to get a license plate number and vehicle description. The only way crime will be reduced is if the entire community gets involved and works with the police to clean up their neighborhoods.

[Rich]

So basically what I'm hearing is that police officers aren't doing their job by enforcing the law because it's an inconvenience. Wow, that is bleak.

[Wil]

So what happened with this?

[streetsweeper95b]

Ok, LT Banks?

Nobody else other than Wyatt Earp seems to have an appropriate answer. Here's your chance to shine, sir.

Need help checking video from security cams? Ask away!

[Shay]

I drive buses for a living, if you run over a body, you do feel it! They know who this person is, it's just not in the public's eye right now. But let me say from a bus driver's point of view, "Walkers, especially Wilshire area! You don't have armor around your body! PLEASE watch where you walk and pay attention! It has been A LOT of times where people would either step off the curb or walk in front of vehicles without thinking twice! It is HARD too see a person if they step off the curb in anyone's blind spot! Just because they say you have the right of way, doesn't means you can walk whenever you please there are moving vehicles approaching and surrounding you. You have rules just as well as drivers!"

[b&wop]

Shay is correct. There used to be a time when CA was known as a strict place when it came to traffic enforcement, and traffic was a lot more orderly.

Now, it seems that pedestrians and cyclists do as they please and are rarely stopped and cited. The LAPD Traffic Divisions need to go back to placing a bigger emphasis on pedestrian/cyclist traffic enforcement as summer approaches.

Too many pedestrians walking against the red hand (flashing or steady) and interfering with traffic at intersections. It's no surprise that a bus ran over one of them.

[les]

I do agree that there should be more enforcement for traffic violations (both from a drivers side & Peds, & bicyclists, & scooters) But i also think that there should be harsher punishments. Because some of this people just aren't getting it through their insipid brains.

[eric]

b&wop, it's sad to hear such a lack of concern for the victim of this hit & run in your comments.

i work at wilshire & vermont and see pedestrians getting tickets for getting caught in the intersection while the light turns yellow every day.

during morning & evening rush hours, lapd is hiding behind the tamale lady to write $130+ tickets to pedestrians while a half dozen motorists run the red light with each cycle of the light.

also, your comment is missing the most important point which is that since this earth day hit & run murder occurred, the independent and mainstream media of los angeles has barely made a peep about this story and lapd has all but dropped their interest as well.

also, local businesses, the local community, and the corporate sponsors of the wilshire earth day festivities have displayed only apathy towards this tragedy.

all that we have left now is people like you who blame the victim.

get you story straight. all witnesses report that the victim was half way through the crosswalk on a green light when she was hit. she did not deserve it as you imply.

as someone who relies on bicycling and public transportation to get around the city, it saddens me to know that you most likely reflect the average driver's opinion on pedestrian traffic.

what lapd needs to do (aside from learn how to catch a 40' school bus) is step up traffic law enforcement towards motorists and revoke driver's licenses for repeat traffic offenders.

for serial offenders, permanent loss of driving priveleges, steep fines, and for worst case scenarios...serious jail time.

also, drivers like you need to treat driving as a privelege, not your manifest right. if more of you thought this way, maybe there would be one more pedestrian alive, today, in los angeles.

[Jannka]

Are there any more updates on this case? I'm astounded at the fact that no one is coming foward regarding this driver.

It's true that many pedestrians are not being as cautious as before, when anyone caught jaywalking would be cited. However, I dont see how that pertains to this particular case, since the "walk" sign was flashing, when she tried to cross the street, according to reports.

Anyone who doesn't stop after knowing they hit a living person is a murderer and should be put away.

[lulu]

There have been no updates on this case that I know of...... The whole issue seemed to vanish.

[P-2]

Hey Rich,

Get rid of the chip on your shoulder when it comes to blaming cops. I can't answer you as to why those officers refused to pull that person over but I do take offense to the insinuation that we don't care.

Let me explain something about the "kangaroo" traffic court in LA. You get a bleeding heart commisioner who thinks that all cops lie and the violator deserves a break. I have seen entire courtrooms cleared out because the commisioner just wants to get through their case files as quickly as possibly and give the majority of offenders traffic school even though it's stated that traffic school is at the descretion of the commisioner. In other words, they get a freebie for blowing that red light and nearly running someone over!

By the way PeekyPannie if your a cop than your worthless for saying what you just said. Yes it sucks going to traffic court but I've been to both Valley and Central traffic courts and the majority of officers DO show up. Maybe one or two won't. So stop trying to trash talk us or at least get your lazy butt to court if you are a cop which I doubt!

[rich]

P-2, if you took personal offense to what i said, then you are not one of the cops i am talking about.

for offending you, i am sorry. you do however prove my point that cops like that do exist.

but more than that, you show us that the problem is much bigger than just "bad cops."

lazy and indiscriminate comissioners, judges, attorneys, and courts have a far heavier influence than the police do and it's about time more officers started calling out those above them.

let's get to the root of this and make la a better place.

a chip on my shoulder? sorry, i care.

[Joanne]

P-2, I'm glad that there is a police officer participating on this blog. Maybe you'll have inside knowledge on the follow up of this story. So, did they find the bus driver?????

[Citizen Joe]

People going to traffic school still have to pay the fine plus the cost of traffic school. For running a red light, that is over $450 total cost. Thats a steep penalty for most people...maybe 1/2 a paycheck or even more than a paycheck. Keep in mind that the majority of people do not nearly make the $60-80K a PII-PIII makes.

So the court commissioner giving them traffic school does not by any means give them a free ride. And traffic school doesn't even alleviate anything if its a second time within a specified period.

[P-2]

Rich,

I will always care because Iburied a relative due to a drunk driver. Officers who don't go aren't necessarily doing it because they don't care. Sometimes we are given so many court subpeonas that we have to prioritize with the most severe like crimes to persons. Now you may say that traffic violations are a crime to people and in a way you're right but domestic violence and robberies take precedence over traffic court.

Joanne unfortunatley that occured in a different area far from where I'm assigned and in a different Bureau (section of the city). I wish I could tell you more. It's hard to find a hit and run driver unless someone saw a license plate. The Los Angeles area has thousands of buses and it would be impossible to find the one involved because not all buses belong to school districts. It's like finding a needle in a hay stack not that traffic detectives don't try. Believe me that is all they do is search. Hope that helps. Sorry I couldn't give you more.

[marie]

does anyone know what's going on with this case? i don't understand the apathy from the korean community and the lapd. this case should be solved already with all the cameras around. please someone solve this case.