The 19-year-old man suspected of killing 5-year-old Ronald O’Neal in a hit-and-run crash late Tuesday afternoon in South Los Angeles turned himself in to police Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Homer Watford walked into the LAPD’s 77th Street Station flanked by his family and told the desk officer that he was driving the green SUV suspected of crashing into the young boy before fleeing the scene.
Watford, who provided a statement to detectives during an interview and admitted his role in the crash, was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and remains in the L.A. County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond.
LAPD Officer Sal Ramirez said the deadly crash occurred at about 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday near 82nd Street and Towne in the Florence area of South Los Angeles.
According to authorities, a dark-green, mid-1990s Chevrolet Suburban was traveling westbound on 82nd Avenue toward Towne when the 5-year-old boy ran into the street and was struck by the vehicle.
The driver failed to stop and help the boy, and Ronald was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Jaychele Turner, the boy’s mother, said that her son, who would have turned 6 in May, did not usually run into the street, and he may have been trying to help catch a neighbor’s dog.
“Ronald was my baby,” Turner told KTLA-TV. “I’m just going to miss him playing the drums, playing a game, dancing.”
Watford’s cousin, 20-year-old Eric Roberts, was also in the car at the time of the crash.
Roberts was interviewed by investigators and provided a statement but has not been arrested, according to the Times.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.