18-Year Old Driver Kills 16-Year Old Runner

A sad addition to the Teen Driver library:

An 18-year-old driver has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run after a 16-year-old Notre Dame High School student was struck and killed while running with his Cross Country team in Sherman Oaks.

Conor Lynch was running on city streets around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday with teammates near Woodman Avenue and Addison Street.

Most of the runners crossed the street on a green light.

However, witnesses say Lynch, who was trailing behind the runners, may have attempted to cross the street in a crosswalk after the light turned red.

He was struck by a Hyundai Santa Fe sport utility vehicle driven by 18-year-old Moran Biton, police said.

Had the 18-year old driver not panicked and left the scene she probably woudn't be in any trouble at all since it appears the runner tried to cross against the light. But leaving the scene of an injury accident, even if it's not the driver's fault, is a felony. Stupid mistake.

Around here I see kids running all the time, often on busy streets. During cross country season there will sometimes be large groups of kids running along the major roads. Some PE classes also send kids out along the local roads. It's an accident waiting to happen.