21-year-old Kristopher Ryan Smith of Norwalk received a 30-day jail sentence on Wednesday, September 9th, for an accident that killed a pedestrian. The incident occured in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
In addition to the time behind bars, the man would serve 300 hours of community service and three years probation. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death and one count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
The accident report showed that the defendant struck 56-year-old Andrew Mallard, an Australian native, as he walked across Sunset Boulevard at Formosa Avenue. It happened on the morning of April 18th, 2019.
Mallard died at the scene, and Smith fled without stopping. A week later, the man turned himself in at the Hollywood station of the Los Angeles Police Department, and officers arrested him. He was later released on bond.
When an accident occurs, it leaves those involved frightened, leading to a fight or flight response. The latter determines if a person would leave a crash site without rendering help, while the former determines if the driver would stay and contact emergency responders.
Doing the first amounts to a hit-and-run offense under the California Vehicle Code, and offenders are liable to time in jail and payment of a fine. Those who have no fault in an accident but leave the scene before the first responders arrive will also be liable for a hit-and-run offense.
Disclaimer: The Accident News article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Accident News’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.
No Comment