SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – San Diego Police are searching for the driver who hit and killed a jogger early Thursday morning in a hit-and-run crash in Point Loma.
SDPD said the fatal collision may have been caused by street racing.
San Diego Police said the fatal collision happened in the 4500 block of Nimitz Boulevard, near West Point Loma Boulevard, at around 4:49 a.m.
Police confirmed a 20-year-old pedestrian was running eastbound on W. Point Loma Blvd. when they were hit by a black 2018 BMW that was heading southbound on Nimitz Blvd.
“The pedestrian began to cross Nimitz Blvd. against a red light and was struck by the BMW,” police stated.
The pedestrian, who was not identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, witnesses told officers that the BMW “appeared to be racing with a white Ford Mustang” prior to the fatal incident.
There possibly was a third vehicle involved in the race that caused the collision.
Detective Sgt. John Ampol, who's helping the investigation, could not confirm the third vehicle at this time, but tells ABC 10News they are reviewing street camera footage.
Ampol also said they're still determining who had the right-of-way.
"This is not an area known for street racing on a regular occurrence," Ampol said. "This might have been a spontaneous event between two or three individuals."
About 30 minutes after the crash, the BMW was found broken down and abandoned in the 3500 block of Canon Street. The vehicle had heavy front-end damage, according to police.
Due to the incident, Nimitz Boulevard was shut down in both directions between Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Chatsworth Boulevard.
SDPD’s Traffic Division is investigating the crash.
ABC 10News looked into the history of collisions at the intersection of Nimitz Blvd and West Point Loma Blvd.
According to SANDAG's Regional Map, 60 collisions occurred between 2011 and 2022, one of which was fatal for a pedestrian.
