Kids & Family
Pedestrian Killed Friday Morning, Possible Hit and Run
Officials received a call early Friday that a man was found on the ground in the area of Golden Lantern and Marina Hills.
A man was discovered on the ground in the crosswalk of Marina Hills and Golden Lantern Street around 4 a.m. Friday.
He later died of injuries at a local hospital, according to Lt. Jim England of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. There was a skateboard found near the scene, he added.
According to Gail Krause, spokesperson for the OC Sheriff's Department, deputies found the car involved in the crash abandoned about a quarter mile away from the area, but the driver has not yet been located.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"The car is a black 1998 Nissan Maxima that is registered to a Dana Point resident," she said. "However, we don't know if the owner is the person who was driving the car at the time. Investigators did find physical evidence on the car that coincides with what they found at the scene. It does appear to be a hit and run accident and the man was dragged before he was left."
The Major Accident Reconstruction Team was at the scene earlier Friday, where traffic was backed up for several miles according to readers.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Reader Holly said: "I live off of Sweet Meadow and Golden Lantern in Laguna Niguel and there was something going on this morning on the street. They had the entire west bound side (driving toward Dana Point) of Golden Lantern closed off and they were turning cars around, at 8 a.m. that caused insane back-up. Luckily, I was going the other direction and all I could see was that the Marina Hills light was flashing red and there were a lot of police cars. The east bound side was completely open but I can't imagine they would close a whole side because a light went out. Please let me know if anything happened there this morning."
Reader Shirley D: "I've been stuck in traffic for 45 minutes, and finally cut through the shopping center to get to my appointment. Looks like everything is cleaned up in terms of the accident, but there is a lot of traffic and cops."
Monica Guillena sent in this tip in earlier: "Please let us know what is going on this morning on Golden Lantern! Street blocked off - package in the middle of the road - traffic being diverted."
Anyone with information on the crash, or the driver, is asked to contact investigators at 949-425-1860.
