Hit and Run SUV Kills Bicycle Rider in North Hills

A 53-year-old man was killed in North Hills today when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a sport utility vehicle whose driver fled, police said.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which happened around 2 a.m. near the intersection of Nordhoff Street and Gaviota Avenue, said Sgt. William Kelly of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

Both the victim and the SUV were eastbound on Nordhoff, Kelly said.

Witnesses reported that the victim bounced off the windshield of the SUV, which was described as a dark Ford or Chevrolet, he said.

The victim was thrown into a planter in front of an auto parts store, according to a news photographer at the scene.

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