LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The suspect in the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist in downtown Los Angeles was publicly identified by authorities today.
Ronald Earl Kenebrew Jr. of Lancaster is suspected of stealing a pickup truck then colliding with the bicycle ridden by Branden Finley and killing him Jan. 16, authorities said.
A delivery driver was making his rounds in the 900 block of Wilshire Boulevard, near the Harbor (110) Freeway, around 8 a.m. Jan. 16 when Kenebrew asked him for a ride, police said.
The owner of the 2010 Toyota Tacoma left the truck running and when he refused to provide a ride, Kenebrew jumped inside and locked the doors, police said.
The owner climbed onto the bed of the pickup truck and tried to get Kenebrew to come out, but instead, he kept driving, prompting the owner to jump from his own vehicle, police said.
The pickup weaved in and out of traffic, and as it approached Olive Street, it hit Finley, who landed on the pickup's hood before falling off near Hill Street, police said.
Finley, 46 and a father of two, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. He was on his way to meet friends for a morning bicycle ride when he was killed, ABC7 reported.
The pickup later collided with two cars. Kenebrew then abandoned the vehicle, police said.
Video surveillance cameras captured Kenebrew's image, which the Los Angeles Police Department released to the public.
LAPD investigators recovered DNA evidence from the scene, which allowed them to identify Kenebrew as the suspect on May 11.
Kenebrew has been in Los Angeles Sheriff's Department custody since Feb. 11 on a robbery charge in Lancaster, police said. He is being held at the Los Angeles County Jail with bail set at $2.2 million.
Photo: Getty Images
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