Hit-and-run suspect abandons car at casino before being arrested in Los Angeles

A man suspected of fatally striking a pedestrian in East Los Angeles abandoned his car at a casino and was arrested more than a dozen miles from the scene, authorities said.

A CHP spokesperson confirmed to KTLA that the vehicle struck the victim – who was not identified – at the intersection of Atlantic and Olympic boulevards in East LA just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday

The male driver then fled the scene of the accident, the spokesman said.

Authorities eventually tracked the man’s mangled red Toyota Celica to the Commerce Casino and Hotel, just over a mile and a half from the collision site, but the driver was nowhere to be found.

Further investigation by CHP revealed that the man had traveled to a residence in the 700 block of North Manhattan Place in Hollywood, approximately 14 miles from the original crash site.

He was taken into custody around 1:10 a.m. Wednesday, CHP said. Video footage obtained by KTLA shows the driver being questioned and undergoing a sobriety test before being handcuffed.

The man’s identity has not been released.

The CHP spokesman could not confirm all allegations against the driver.

Alexis Lewis contributed to this report.