Heartbreaking details emerge in West L.A. hit-and-run that killed baby, uncle

Heartbreaking details are emerging in a West Los Angeles hit-and-run that killed a 1-year-old boy and his uncle and critically injured another woman early Sunday morning. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the multi-vehicle collision was reported at 4:34 a.m. near 6800 Vista Del Mar, close to the intersection of Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey. A family of four, three adult siblings and the child, were leaving a beach bonfire when their BMW SUV was struck by a driver behind the wheel of a white Jeep, KTLA's Rachel Menitoff reported. Close family friends who rushed to the scene identified the man pronounced dead at the crash site as Oswaldo Sandoval. Sandoval’s brother, the child’s father, and his sister were rushed to the hospital, where the 1-year-old later succumbed to his injuries. The sister remains in critical condition on life support, while the child’s father is reportedly in stable physical condition with several broken ribs. The driver of the Jeep, described only as an adult Hispanic man, allegedly exited the vehicle and took off running. “We’re all really heartbroken about the situation and how everything went down,” close family friend Osman Padilla told reporters in Spanish. “It’s unfortunate how a 1-year-old died in an accident like this.” Neighbor Mike Mollney said he awoke to frantic screams from family members who were seeing the crash site and destruction for the first time. “I started hearing the screams that I can’t get out of my head,” he said. “Just terrible.” Mollney added that the Vista Del Mar stretch of road is dangerous, with cars often flying by. He questioned whether the Jeep’s driver may have been asleep at the wheel given the early hour of the deadly collision. Another close family friend, identified only as Elsa, said she will always remember the child’s sweet laugh and effortless love. She described the boy’s father as a great dad. “I want the driver to know that they took the life of an innocent child who still had so much to live,” she said in Spanish. “He was only 1 and a half years old. So please, turn yourself in. We want justice.” The driver of the Jeep remains on the run. Investigators are working to identify him while also trying to determine what led up to the crash and whether alcohol or drugs may have been a factor. KTLA Digital Producer Will Conybeare contributed to this report.