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LONG BEACH, Calif. (KOVR) — Investigators are searching for the driver of a cargo van which struck and then dragged an elderly man for hundreds of feet in an industrial area in Long Beach Monday night, killing him.
Sometime before 7:50 p.m., according to Long Beach police, the victim was crossing South Street at Paramount Boulevard when he was hit by a van.
The victim was in a marked crosswalk with a walk signal and the cargo van was attempting to turn north onto Paramount Boulevard when it hit him, police said.
After hitting him, the van then dragged the victim for about 900 feet north on Paramount Boulevard before fleeing the scene and leaving the man behind.
A little while later, police said, a 2004 GMC Yukon driving down Paramount Boulevard did not see the victim lying in the road, was unable to swerve in time, and struck him again. That driver stayed at the scene and contacted police.
The victim, identified by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as 79-year-old Elias Sanchez of Long Beach, died at the scene. It’s unclear if he was deceased before being struck by the Yukon.
The cargo van is described as a 1970s or 1980s white cargo van with a ladder in the rear and green writing on the back. Police do not have a description of the driver. Police have provided photos of a similar-looking van.
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