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Cyclist Dragged 500 Feet in Fatal Hit-Run Crash

A cyclist died after being dragged around 500 feet down the street in a high-speed hit-in-run crash in Highland Park early Friday.

The man was struck at the intersection of Marniom Way and Figueroa Street by a black Nissan sedan traveling at more than 80 mph just before 3 a.m, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

A 33-year-old man was killed. A witness claimed the vehicle did not apply the brakes despite the man being dragged underneath. 

"He just went for him, he went for the biker and kept going, and he didn't hit the brakes once.You didn't hear any screeching," a witness said.

"All you heard was the body... He was bouncing under the car... just like a basketball," the witness added.

Another person with a bike who was traveling with the man was not hit.

The driver of the vehicle, which had been traveling north on Figueroa Street, fled the scene. About a half hour after the collision, a witness tip led investigators to the car, abandoned.

Alexis Virto, 21, was located in a home nearby.

"The registered owner was asleep on the bed, still with debris on his hair from the broken windshield," said Det. John Meneses.

Virto was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Investigators said he denied being the driver of the car.

"He was heavily intocxicated, even five and a half hours after this traffic collision," Meneses said.

Gordon Tokumatsu contributed to this report.

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