SUV stopped, then left after fatally striking man in Chatsworth crosswalk

A man walking inside a marked crosswalk in Chatsworth was struck by an SUV and left fatally injured early Sunday, October 18, 2026. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His name has not been released in the available accounts; the latest police description identifies him as a man in his 60s. ^{1 5}

Police say the SUV was traveling south on De Soto Avenue near Lassen Street when it hit him. The vehicle then stopped momentarily along the curb just south of Lassen before continuing south. The driver left without identifying themselves or providing aid, according to the Los Angeles Police Department account reported by CBS Los Angeles. ¹

That brief stop is central to the account. This was not a driver who remained at the scene to exchange information or help the person struck. Police describe a pause followed by departure, leaving investigators to establish who was behind the wheel. LAPD says drivers involved in a collision are required to stop, identify themselves and render aid. ¹

The vehicle police are seeking is a dark-colored SUV, possibly a black BMW-type SUV. Both the make and the precise color remain tentative in the later police release, dated October 18 and identified as NR26217ne. That release is preserved in an LAPD-attributed posting on Forth; Van Nuys News Press republished it on October 19. ^{3 4}

Earlier reporting was more definite. KTLA’s October 18 headline described a dark-colored BMW, while its fuller account called the vehicle a black and gray BMW SUV. CBS Los Angeles’s October 18 evening report used the more cautious description: a dark SUV, possibly a black BMW. The later police wording should guide the public appeal—not because it rules out a BMW, but because it does not confirm one. ^{2 1 3}

The available accounts do not establish a verified license plate, specific model or released surveillance image that would narrow the search to one SUV. Nor do they establish a subsequent confirmed vehicle identification. A possible make is a lead, not enough by itself to identify the vehicle or its driver. ^{3 4}

The location is clearer than the vehicle identification: police place the pedestrian inside a crosswalk near De Soto and Lassen, with additional reporting describing it as marked. The precise side of the intersection he was crossing and his direction of travel have not been established. Those details should remain unknown rather than be filled in from the intersection’s layout. ^{1 5}

The victim’s reported age changed substantially. KTLA’s October 18 account described a man in his 30s. The later October 18 police release described a man in his 60s, as did CBS Los Angeles’s report that evening; the October 19 republication repeated the older age. The current account therefore follows the later police description. No explanation or explicit correction establishing why the age changed was found, and the earlier ethnicity description has not been confirmed. ^{2 3 1 4}

The reported times require a different distinction. The later police release places the collision at around 12:30 a.m. KTLA says the incident was reported at 12:40 a.m., while MyNewsLA gives a report time of 12:39 a.m. A crash time and the time an incident is reported need not be identical. The one-minute difference between the two report times remains unreconciled; none establishes an exact moment of impact. ^{3 2 5}

As of the accounts available through October 19, the public appeal remained a search for the driver. Those accounts contain neither a named suspect nor an arrest announcement. That does not establish that investigators have made no progress; it means there is no confirmed identification or arrest to report from those statements. ^{1 4}

CBS reports that a reward of up to $50,000 is available through the city’s standing Los Angeles Administrative Code Hit-and-Run Reward Program Trust Fund. The stated conditions are information leading to the suspect’s identification, arrest and conviction. It is a conditional maximum, not an automatic payment for submitting a tip. ¹

Anyone with information about this collision can contact the LAPD Valley Traffic Division detectives at 818-644-8117 or 818-644-8114. The appeal concerns the fatal collision near De Soto Avenue and Lassen Street early October 18—not simply any dark SUV or BMW in the area. ¹