Two women were killed early this morning in La Verne after the driver of the car they were riding in fled the scene of a hit-and-run and crashed into a tree, authorities said.
Alan McConnell, 27, was with two women in a 2000 Pontiac when he struck a car near Foothill Boulevard and Damien Avenue about 12:45 a.m., La Verne Police Lt. Nick Paz said. McConnell then fled east on Foothill and hit a tree in the median of the road near Wheeler Avenue, less than a half-mile away.
Officers found McConnell inside the car, dazed but with no apparent injuries. He was arrested and charged with murder, felony DUI and hit-and-run, Paz said.
One of the female passengers was pronounced dead at the scene. The other passenger was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center where she later died. The names and ages of the victims are being withheld, pending family notification, an L.A. County coroner’s official said.
[Updated at 7:16 p.m.: The L.A. County coroner’s office has identified the women as Telassie Dague, 22, and Renee Hardy, 20, both of Alta Loma.]
No other injuries were reported.
— Corina Knoll