Driver arrested in cyclist’s death

A driver accused of running over a bicyclist with his van and dragging him for nearly a mile in a hit-andrun crash in BroadwayManchester, killing him, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, Los Angeles police said Wednesday morning.

Felipe Avalos, 66, was driving south on Broadway in a white van when he crashed into a bicyclist crossing near 115th Street around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, a collision that forced the bicyclist onto the road, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release.

Avalos ran over the bicyclist, who became lodged in the van’s undercarriage, and continued to drive south on Broadway, turning several times on side streets for roughly a mile, according to the LAPD.

The bicyclist finally became dislodged from underneath the van at Broadway and El Segundo Boulevard in Compton, and Avalos drove away without stopping to help the bicyclist, police said. The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The victim’s identity had not been released by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as of Wednesday.

LAPD investigators canvassed the area to speak with witnesses. Police found a surveillance camera that captured the initial collision and images of Avalos’ vehicle, police said. A witness provided a possible license plate number, and investigators confirmed it matched the vehicle that struck the bicyclist.

Police found Avalos’ van parked in a driveway at a home in Compton. While watching the property, investigators saw a person who fit the description of the driver involved in the fatal crash leave the home and get into the vehicle.

Avalos was booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.