Yahoo News published a report from a witness to the one-car accident that resulted in last week’s death of left-wing journalist, Michael Hastings. This person describes sitting at a stoplight on Santa Monica Boulevard when Hastings’ white Mercedes blew by heading south on Highland Ave.
I was stopped at the light at Santa Monica [Boulevard], headed south on Highland [Avenue]. I looked down to turn my radio down, and this car just blasted past me through the red light–it shook my car. No telling how fast the driver was going. A taxi driver was in the far right lane and we looked at each other, both saying, “What the hell was that?”… By the time the light changed, I could only see the tail lights of the white Mercedes–it was probably past Willoughby by then which was the next red light that I got stopped at. The Mercedes was flying down Highland. The same cab driver pulled up to the light at Willoughby [Avenue] and I looked over at him again in disbelief. Right as I did, the cab driver said something to the effect of, “He didn’t make it.” The [Mercedes] was all the way south of Melrose [Avenue] at this point.
I looked down Highland and saw a giant fireball at the base of one of the palms that line the medians on Highland. It was surreal. Even from as far away as I was, I could see how violent an impact it had been. I live in the area so parked near my place and sprinted over the the scene of the accident.
The area on Highland Ave between Santa Monica and Melrose is a residential area populated with small businesses, homes, and sidewalks. The crash reportedly occurred a little after 4 am.
Last week, the LA Weekly reported that the early evidence points to speed as a “major factor” in the accident.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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