South LA hit-and-run: Driver backs over great-grandmother, looks at her body then flees scene

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles police are looking for a driver who backed over a 91-year-old great-grandmother, then got out and looked at her dying body on the ground before taking off.

The deadly hit-and-run happened Monday morning in South Los Angeles.

Family members identified the victim as Soon Kim, a mother of two and grandmother of five who lived in the neighborhood near the alley. She also had two great grandchildren.

"Our grandmother lived a very full life, a very happy woman. Lived for her family, her grandkids," said her grandson, Rich Henderson.

"To die in such a horrific way - we were expecting the call at 91 years old that she had died peacefully in her sleep. To get that call (instead) is truly heartbreaking."

Video shows Kim walking with the aid of a walker across the entrance to an alley on Ellendale Place south of Adams Boulevard around 7 a.m. Monday.

The driver of a pickup truck, which appeared to be loaded with bulky materials, possibly furniture, was backing out of the alley and apparently did not see Kim.

The truck backed over her.

The driver, a woman, stopped, got out and looked at Kim's body on the ground, and moved the truck out of the roadway.

After about three minutes, she got back into the truck and drove away from the scene, leaving Kim's body in the street.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and brought Kim to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Kim was an immigrant from South Korea who loved America, her church and playing bingo. She was widowed at 25 and raised her two children on her own.

"It was true grit," Henderson said. "She really had a tough life. Her perseverance through life instpired all her children and her grandchildren."

Now her family is begging the driver to turn herself in or any witnesses to come forward.

A reward of up to $50,000 is available for information leading to the driver's arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call LAPD Officer Del Haro or Officer Pollard at (323)421-2500, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, or if after-hours, called 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

More details and full video of the incident may be viewed here. Warning: the footage is disturbing.