By Jorge Casuso

December 23, 2024 -- An elderly woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Sunday evening near Douglas Park, marking the fourth pedestrian to die from a traffic collision this year.

Officers and paramedics responding to dispatch calls at around 6:40 p.m. found an elderly female victim who had been struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Chelsea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, police officials said.

The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson.

"The striking vehicle was last seen eastbound on Wilshire Boulevard fleeing the area at a high rate of speed," Aklufi said.

Officers checked the area but were unable to locate the driver or vehicle, police said.

SMPD’s Major Accident Response Team responded to the scene and have begun an ongoing investigation, Aklufi said.

"We are not sharing any additional information about the victim or suspect vehicle," Aklufi said in response to a request for information.

"We will send out a press release when we have more details or need the public’s help."

Four pedestrian have died this year from injuries sustained in traffic collisions.

One pedestrian, who was struck by a car on Christmas Eve last year, died of her injuries two weeks later. The victim was crossing southbound on 4th Street at approximately 7:52 p.m., when she was struck by a car.

On January 13, a woman in her fifties was killed by a car as she walked across Lincoln Boulevard, and on April 1, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a car near the Santa Monica Pier entrance.

Crashes involving pedestrians that resulted in injuries have spiked in the city after a steep drop in 2020 due to the COVID shutdown, according to data from the Transportation Department.

Last year, 39 people were severely injured or killed in local traffic accidents, one of them a motorist killed in a car-only crash, the data compiled by the Department of Transportation show.

The total number of accidents resulting in severe injuries and deaths was the highest since 43 were reported in 2019 and the second highest since at least 2010, the first year counts were provided.

In 2023, pedestrians were involved in 16 severe injury crashes and five fatal crashes, while six bicyclists were severely injured and one was killed. Three severe injury crashes involved scooters.

The rise in collisions involving pedestrians -- as well as high profile crashes involving bicyclists -- have prompted the Council to act and police to boost traffic safety operations ("Bicycle Safety Focus of Council Item, Police Operation," November 13, 2023).