Police Seek ID of Driver in Fatality

Police are distributing fliers at local auto repair shops in hopes of tracking down the driver who struck and killed a Laguna Beach High School student Sunday evening.

Julio Perez, 18, a recent immigrant from Mexico who worked two jobs to help support his family in addition to going to school, was on his way home from playing basketball. He was riding east in the bike lane in the 1800 block of Laguna Canyon Road shortly after 8 p.m. when he was hit from behind by a sport utility vehicle and thrown more than 70 feet, police said. The driver fled.

“The car veers off the road and hits the bicyclist, then returns to the roadway,� said Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Louise Callus. “The bicyclist was traveling in the right flow of traffic and riding where he should have been.�

Police are looking for a white 1983 to 1990 Chevy S-10 Blazer with front-end damage to the right side and a license plate that includes the letters JM. Fragments from the car, including a portion of the light cover, were recovered at the accident site. Witnesses described the driver as a white male in his 30s, 5 feet 10, 160 pounds, with a medium build and medium-length straight dark brown hair.

Witnesses told police the driver stopped about a mile after the accident to inspect the front of his car. He again stopped a short distance later to check the car. Witnesses said they thought he would return to the accident scene after inspecting his vehicle, but he never did.

Perez was rushed to South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach, where he died a short time later.

He moved from Mexico to the United States about two years ago and lived with his father and two cousins about a mile from where he was struck, family members said. He had just completed the 10th grade at Laguna Beach High.

The spot where he was hit is considered a relatively safe portion of Laguna Canyon Road, police Chief James E. Spreine said. The road is wider there, with a slight grade and a bike lane. But the canyon road is infamous for motorists speeding through sharp curves.

Anyone with information is urged to call Laguna Beach police at (949) 497-0701.