A failed stunt in Echo Park has the LAPD offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest of a driver of a rented Tesla that went airborne before colliding with two parked cars.
Video of the Sunday morning crash was shared by the Los Angeles Police Department Central Division on YouTube.
The LAPD said a driver of a rented 2018 Tesla Model S, which was originally identified as a Tesla S-BLM, performed a dangerous stunt near the intersection of Baxter and Alvarado streets around 12:10 a.m. The video shows the Tesla headed toward an intersection at a high rate of speed when it suddenly catches air and then comes down hard on its front wheels.
The vehicle then crashed into several trash cans and two parked cars, the LAPD said.
The driver of the Tesla abandoned the car and fled the scene. According to neighbor Cliff Magreta’s video, they fled in a different Tesla.
“These kids were just running up and down the hill here. Three Teslas followed, and they basically jumped from one Tesla to another,” Magreta said.
On Sunday evening, police said they had received more than 50 tips as to the driver’s identity.
“Over 90% of the tips are of the same person who has a TikTok handle of @dominykas or @durtedom on Twitter. He is considered a person of interest based on the public postings on his account,” the LAPD’s Central Traffic Division tweeted.
The LAPD added that they are no longer seeking tips about this person, as they have reached out to him, though they would like “any witnesses to also come forward.”
Detective Juan Campos of the LAPD called the jump “a dangerous stunt.”
“It never should’ve been done,” Campos said. “I don’t know what they were thinking about. It could’ve gotten somebody killed.”
As part of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund, a $1,000 reward is available for anyone in the community who is able to provide information that leads to the identification of the driver.
Anyone with information on this hit-and-run is urged to contact Campos at 213-833-3713. You can also submit an anonymous tip on lacrimestoppers.org.
The Police Department is reminding drivers in crashes to follow the law: check on everyone involved in the crash, exchange information and call 911 if anyone is seriously injured. Fleeing from a crash can turn a misdemeanor traffic citation into criminal charges, police said.
