Police said a white Mercedes struck a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk near Sherman Way.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A North Hollywood man was arrested after a pedestrian was killed Monday night in a hit-and-run crash at a busy Van Nuys intersection, Los Angeles police said.
Police identified the driver as 40-year-old Jose Maranon and said he was booked at Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of murder. The crash has drawn attention because investigators said the pedestrian was in a marked crosswalk when he was hit, and because police said the driver left the scene before officers found him a short time later. Bail was set at $2 million. The victim’s name had not been released as of Saturday.
The collision happened around 10:25 p.m. Monday as a white Mercedes traveled south on Van Nuys Boulevard approaching Sherman Way, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators said the Mercedes was moving at an unsafe speed when it struck a man crossing the street. Police said the impact threw the pedestrian in a southwest direction before he landed in the roadway. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded and pronounced him dead at the scene. Police said the driver continued from the area without stopping to help. “The driver fled the scene,” police said in a statement describing the case.
Officers later located Maranon and took him into custody without incident, police said. ABC7 reported that officers stopped the suspect in North Hollywood after noticing damage to his car. Police said investigators determined Maranon had been driving under the influence and at an unsafe speed at the time of the collision. The pedestrian was described by police as a man believed to be about 30 years old. Authorities had not released his identity while relatives were being notified. Police also had not released a detailed account of what happened in the minutes before the crash, including where the pedestrian entered the crosswalk, how fast the Mercedes was traveling or whether other vehicles were involved.
The crash occurred in the central San Fernando Valley, where Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way carry heavy traffic through a dense mix of businesses, bus stops, apartment buildings and late-night travel. The intersection is one of the best-known crossroads in Van Nuys, near civic offices, shopping centers and major north-south and east-west routes. The location means many pedestrians cross wide lanes of traffic while drivers move through one of the Valley’s busiest corridors. Police said the victim was in a marked crosswalk, a detail that made the crash part of a broader pattern of deadly pedestrian collisions on major Los Angeles streets.
The booking on suspicion of murder signals that investigators believe the case may involve more than a routine traffic death, but prosecutors make the final decision on what charges to file. Police said Maranon was booked into Van Nuys Jail after the arrest. Records cited by police and local reports listed bail at $2 million. It was not immediately clear whether Maranon had retained an attorney or when his first court appearance would be held. The case remained under investigation by LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division, which handles serious and fatal crashes in the San Fernando Valley.
Crime-scene tape blocked the area after the crash, and a white canopy covered the victim’s body at the intersection, according to video and reports from the scene. The crash shut down part of the roadway while investigators examined the street, the crosswalk and vehicle evidence. Local television footage showed the kind of late-night scene that often follows fatal traffic investigations in Los Angeles, with patrol vehicles, flashing lights and blocked lanes around a major intersection. Police did not say whether nearby cameras, business surveillance video or witness statements had been collected, but such evidence is often central in hit-and-run investigations.
The case stood Saturday with Maranon in custody and the victim still publicly unidentified. Police had not announced additional arrests or a final filing decision. The next major step is expected to come from prosecutors or court records after the case is reviewed.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.