Daughter of LAPD sergeant charged in fatal hit-and-run

A 23-year-old Gardena woman accused of fleeing the scene after a fatal collision with a bicyclist in June is the daughter of an LAPD sergeant and the victim was a U.S. Postal Service worker, police confirmed Thursday.

Vanessa Marie Yanez is charged in connection with the fatal hit-and-run that occurred June 26, according to Lt. Steve Prendergast, public information officer and traffic bureau commander for the Gardena Police Department.

Prendergast said in an email Thursday that Yanez’s father, LAPD Sgt. Arturo Yanez, was not a suspect or being investigated in connection with the incident.

Yanez was driving eastbound on El Segundo Boulevard when she allegedly hit Jesse Dotson Jr. Dotson, a father who died of his injuries three days after the collision. Yanez allegedly fled the scene and then reported her vehicle stolen to the Huntington Park Police Department the next morning.

A Huntington police officer saw news reports of the hit-and-run and alerted Gardena police to Yanez’s possible connection, according to Prendergast. The collision occurred a few blocks from Yanez’s home.

Yanez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to leaving the scene of an accident, giving false statements to police and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter. Yanez could face six years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

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