By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
The Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Police have arrested the driver who struck and killed two pedestrians Sunday night on Hollywood Boulevard, authorities said.
Sergio Delgado, 29, was arrested for investigation of murder, said Sgt. Ruby Malachi of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is being held on $2 million bail.
LAPD Officer Karen Smith said Delgado was being pursued for reckless driving when he struck the pedestrians at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday in the 6400 block of Hollywood Boulevard, near Wilcox Avenue.
The pedestrians -- a man and woman believed to be 35 to 40 years old -- were pronounced dead at the scene, said d’Lisa Davies, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Davies said she did not know whether the two people were walking in a crosswalk.
Hollywood resident Stevie Herrall, 37, said he saw Delgado’s car approach the Hollywood Boulevard intersection and strike the pedestrians. Herrall, an artist, said the car was weaving in and out of traffic and that the pedestrians probably didn’t see it coming toward them.
“I don’t think they had time” to move, he said.
Although police had earlier seen him driving on the wrong side of the road, he was on the correct side at the time of the crash, Malachi said. They are investigating how fast he was driving, Malachi said.
Herrall said the car struck both pedestrians and then ran over the woman’s torso and legs. He said the man lay in the street as other cars ran over him.
Herrall questioned why police pursued Delgado through heavy traffic.
“Why would you chase someone down a busy boulevard like this?” he said. “I’m not blaming the cops . . . (but) they could have backed off.”
Malachi said officers followed standard procedure in pursuing Delgado and that police consider many factors when they initiate a pursuit, such as the danger the suspect poses to others, whether the suspect is armed or is wanted on an outstanding warrant. She said officers in this case did not have enough time to determine whether Delgado was armed or to search for outstanding warrants.
Officers began pursuing Delgado when they saw him leave the Hollywood Bowl area, driving on the wrong side of the road and running several traffic signals, Malachi said. The pursuit lasted less than a minute, she said.
“Less than a minute goes like that,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Less than a minute doesn’t give you much time to call it off.”
Delgado was taken to a hospital and then into custody, authorities said this morning. No one else was injured.
Herrall, who has lived near Hollywood Boulevard since 1992, said he still feels safe in the neighborhood in spite of the incident.
“The boulevard is a good place to hang out; it’s just one bad guy,” he said. “The cops out here do a real good job of keeping trouble down. If there was a fight down there, a cop would be there in 30 seconds.”
Copyright 2008 The Los Angeles Times