LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a motion to provide a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests in solving a fatal hit and run case in Hollywood. In the incident, the victim was identified by LAPD detectives as Keymontae Mackenzie, a 22-year old transgendered woman.
On September 27, the victim was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle when she stepped off the curb on the 6700 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, just east of Highland Avenue in Hollywood.
The motion for reward was introduced by District 12 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who asked the city council for support in helping the police generate leads in the case.
“The T in LGBT is usually the segment of the population that is forgotten the most,” O’Farrell said in statement on www.cd13.com.
“As an openly gay Councilmember, I want to make sure the voice of the transgender community is heard, and that someone is looking out for one of our own.”
The victim, Mackenzie, was listed in his driver’s license as a male, but friends said that he identified himself as a transgender woman.
Albert Vasquez, a social worker from Bienestar, joined O’Farrell at City Hall on Tuesday to ask the public to help in solving the case by coming forward with information. Mackenzie was Vasquez’s client in a foster care program.
“For such a long time, a lot of the kids are dependent on the system,” Vasquez said.
“Once they are out on the streets, they are left to fend for themselves.”
Also joining O’Farrell on Tuesday was Karina Samala, LA Human Relations Transgender Working Group chairperson.
“They [transgendered individuals] come out younger and younger and they end up on the streets. It’s a big issue for our community,” Samala said.
Police identified the suspect’s car as a light-colored, older model Ford Thunderbird.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation are urged to call the LAPD West Traffic Division investigators at (213) 473-0234 or 1-800-222-TIPS.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend October 12-15, 2013 Sec A pg.5)