Los Angeles Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help to find the hit-and-run driver whose Porsche Panamera allegedly struck and killed another driver earlier this summer, as the suspected driver raced down a South Los Angeles street at just under 100 mph, police said.
Emerson Noel Escobar Gonzalez, 25, was killed instantly, detectives said, when the white Porsche T-boned his car on July 5.
At a Thursday morning news conference, LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno identified the suspected driver as 24-year-old Cierra Danae Whitaker and announced $50,000 reward for information.
Police are looking for the 24-year-old suspect, wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run collision.
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Police-released video of the collision shows Gonzalez stopped at a stop sign at 91st Street, waiting for a fire department vehicle with sirens on to drive by. After the fire vehicle passed, he proceeded to cross Figueroa Street when a white car slammed into him. The posted speed at Figueroa is 35 mph, and Moreno said it’s believed that the suspect driver was racing at three times the speed limit, just under 100 mph.
“It’s kind of sad when you see this video because we believe Emerson was killed instantly, and there was zero concern at all for this guy,” Moreno said. Video taken from bystanders at the scene shows women getting out of the Porsche after the collision, taking items from inside their car and the trunk, then walking off.
“Sadly, they begin walking away from the scene, as the individual continues to film them, telling them to stop, stay at the scene and do the right thing, and at that point the suspect driver becomes confrontational with them,” Moreno said.
The detective stated that the investigation identified Whittaker as the suspected driver and that she is known to many people in the Los Angeles area, Orange County, and Las Vegas, as she and the other two women with her are known prostitutes, police said.
“We’re hoping that today, once we release these video images of the suspect, someone would know her, know her whereabouts, where she’s at,” Moreno said. “We’re asking for the public’s help in this…Emerson’s family would appreciate it too.”
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