Good Samaritan’s car is hijacked after they stop to help hit-and-run pedestrian in West Adams

An abstract blurry stock image of a police car's lights at night. (Evgen_Prozhyrko/iStock photo)

A man was killed in a hit-and-run incident Thursday morning at a West Adams freeway onramp, and a Good Samaritan who stopped to help had his vehicle stolen.

Around 4:39 a.m. at the Normandie Avenue and Westbound 10 Freeway onramp, police responded to a pedestrian who had been struck in the crosswalk.

Neighbour Melissa Conley says the victim was a nice man who lived in an encampment on her street corner. “He spends his time fixing up bicycles for some money, and he was always sweeping and cleaning and trying to keep up the area,” she said.

The California Highway Patrol says the man was first struck by a white pickup truck before another driver ran him over and didn’t stop.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a man’s vehicle was stolen as he stopped at the scene to try to help the victim. Another neighbour, Liz, said it was an Amazon Driver who stopped, and his truck was stolen.

Liz said she has almost hit the man before. “He would just be roaming around early in the morning, or really late at night and he was always wearing dark clothing, so you couldn’t see him,” she said.