Child killed after possible DUI driver crashes RV in Koreatown
Los Angeles police arrested a driver in Koreatown after his RV allegedly collided and killed a child Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said the crash happened just before 7:30 p.m. in the 350 block of S. New Hampshire Ave.
Police said the child and his older brother were riding scooters when they collided with the RV, which was traveling southbound on New Hampshire Avenue and made a left turn on Fourth Street, where it hit the victims.
On Monday, the boy was identified as 9-year-old Nadir Gavarette. His older brother, 19, was taken to the hospital in a stable condition.
Candy Williams, a resident who lives nearby says that she often saw the brothers riding their scooters or bikes.
Other neighbors and family members of the two boys added to a memorial that grew throughout the day at the intersection where the crash occurred.
Jose Ramos spoke with CBS News Los Angeles in Spanish on Friday afternoon. He said that the two victims were his cousins, and that their loss leaves a massive void in the family.
Officers arrested the RV driver for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to LAPD. He has been identified as 46-year-old Jimmy Pittman.
Williams said that she tried to get him to slow down moments before the crash.
"I see them every day, on their scooters and on their bikes," she said. "It's a whole lot, because I literally told him to slow down, 'You're going to kill somebody.' And that's what he did."
