2 women killed in hit-run crashes

Two women were killed in separate hit-and-run collisions in Torrance and Harbor Gateway overnight, leading to one arrest, authorities said.

Early Wednesday morning, Torrance police were called to the area of Pacific Coast Highway and Calle Mayor and found a woman dead in the street, Sgt. Mark Ponegalek said.

Investigators located surveillance video of the suspect's vehicle and later received a call from a relative of the suspect with information regarding the crash, which occurred about 1 a.m., Ponegalek said.

Officers found the driver, identified as Kevin TorresValencia, 20, of Wilmington, and arrested him on suspicion of felony hit-andrun driving, the sergeant said.

He was released on his own recognizance shortly before 6:30 a.m., according to jail records, which also showed he was scheduled to appear in Torrance Superior Court on Friday.

Further information about the circumstances leading up to and following the crash was not immediately disclosed.

About three hours earlier in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles police were called to the area of Carson Street and Denker Avenue, where another woman was found in the roadway with injuries sustained in a crash, Los Angeles police said.

The woman, believed to be about 30 years old, was taken to a hospital but died, police said.

The driver was headed westbound on Carson Street when the crash occurred about 10:20 p.m., police said. The driver, who was being sought by police, did not stop and continued westbound in what police believed was a white, two-door coupe, possibly a BMW.

Neither of the two victims was publicly identified by police, pending notification of their relatives.