A 16-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed in a parking lot at Los Angeles' BMO Stadium Friday in what authorities described as a possible case of road rage.
The teen was among 40 people riding bikes at about 4:30 p.m. near the stadium, home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC, in Exposition Park when some type of altercation occurred involving a driver. The bicyclists were riding south on Figueroa Street when they entered the stadium's closed parking lot and the driver followed them inside, according to authorities.
The sedan driver then accelerated toward the bicyclists, struck the victim and sped away from the lot south of downtown Los Angeles, according to the CHP.
"A preliminary report suggests an altercation occurred between a group of bicyclists and a vehicle on Figueroa Street, north of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard," the CHP said in a statement. "The altercation continued into a parking lot on Exposition Park property, where the bicyclist was struck by a vehicle."
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Details about the altercation that led to the crash were not available.
"It's a tragic incident and 100% preventable, avoidable. It should have never happened," CHP Sgt. Dan Kene said at a news conference at the scene after the collision.
"We urge that driver to come to a CHP station and talk to us. Tell us what happened. No parent should have to go through that."
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No arrests were reported Saturday. Detailed descriptions of the driver and car were not immediately available.
Investigators said they are interviewing several witnesses.
