Santa Monica police are hoping to find the people who intervened to dig a woman out of the sand after she was hit by an SUV driving on the beach just over a week ago.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene as Santa Monica Fire Department workers worked to lift the vehicle to free her from underneath.
On October 17 around 11:30 p.m., Santa Monica police arrested the suspect for a vehicle stuck in the sand.
Police said there were reports that the driver of a silver Infiniti SUV was driving in circles on the sand near the pier at a high rate of speed when it ran over the victim.
The 21-year-old driver remained at the scene. Yuyang Sun was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, reckless driving and gross manslaughter.
Several individuals “who heroically attempted to dig the victim’s body from under a vehicle stuck in the sand” are wanted by police as investigators seek information about the incident. According to the department, they left before police arrived.
“We encourage these Good Samaritans to speak with department investigators as they may have valuable information that could help determine the totality of the circumstances leading up to this incident,” Santa Monica police said in a statement . “Your information, no matter how small it may seem, could be crucial to our efforts.”
Anyone at the scene or with information can contact investigator Evan Raleigh at evan.raleigh@santamonica.gov or 310-458-8954, or Sgt. Krueger at nick.krueger@santamonica.