Cyclist killed in hit-and-run crash while riding for AIDS/LifeCycle in Griffith Park
AIDS/LifeCycle is in mourning Monday for one of its longtime participants who was killed by a hit-and-run driver during the charity ride in Griffith Park over the weekend.
Andrew Jelmert, 77, was a five-time participant of AIDS/LifeCycle and a member of the team Different Spokes, the organizers wrote on Facebook Sunday. He had been riding with AIDS/LifeCycle's Day on the Ride SoCal on Saturday.
Joe Hollendonor, the incoming CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said they were heartbroken to have to share the news.
"This is a senseless tragedy, and our hearts go out to everyone who is affected," he said in a statement.
The crash happened at 3:49 p.m. Saturday at 4400 Crystal Springs Drive, according to the LAPD's Central Traffic Division. Jelmert was riding northbound when he was hit by a gray BMW sedan that was also going northbound.
Police say Jelmert fell onto the roadway where he suffered blunt force trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect abandoned the car and ran from the scene but was found and arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter by park rangers, the LAPD said, and alcohol is believed to be a factor in this collision. Police identified the driver Monday as 37-year-old Jairo Martinez, who is being held on $617,500 bail, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's jail records.
The crash remains under investigation.
Anyone with information about this crash can contact Detective Gabriela Diaz at (213) 833-3713 or via email at 36160@lapd.online.
