Police Seek Help in Finding Driver

Nearly three months after a Cal State Northridge honors student was fatally injured by a hit-and-run driver, police gave a description of the motorist--who may have been under the influence at the time of the accident--and renewed their appeal for the public’s help in locating the man.

“It’s up to the public now,” said Capt. Alan Kerstein, head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division, during a news conference held with Mann’s family.

“We hope people who see someone bragging, or see a vehicle matching the description will call us.”

Police are seeking a white male, aged 45 to 60, with short, thinning gray or blond hair and an “average to stocky” build. The car is described as a damaged, late-1980s light blue Nissan Sentra or Toyota Corolla.

Charles “Chris” Mann, 20, died Oct. 10, a week after being struck and falling into a coma.

Mann had been in-line skating on Valley Circle Boulevard in West Hills about 6:40 p.m. when a late-1980s model subcompact swung into the bicycle lane and struck Mann with enough force to shatter the car’s windshield and break both of Mann’s legs. Mann had been skating close to the curb at the time of the accident, at least 8 feet to the right of the traffic flow, police said.

Based on skid marks and witness accounts of the driver’s erratic path, “alcohol appears to be an influence,” Kerstein said.

Detectives have interviewed only five witnesses from the crowded, rush-hour accident scene--a fact they attribute to urban apathy. Police Det. Pat Ramsey expressed frustration at the scarcity of leads.

“We’re talking about a high-traffic area, at a time of day [that was] an hour before sundown, when people are going home from work,” he said. “I just can’t believe that more people didn’t see something.”

A $25,000 reward was offered by the City Council in November and is still in effect, Kerstein said.

The family is working to create a $25,000 Japanese studies scholarship in Mann’s name, said Mann’s mother, Andrea Mann, who attended Thursday’s news conference with her son, Scott, 22. In November the family announced the creation of a $1,000 scholarship at CSUN.

Anyone with information on the accident is asked to call Ramsey at (818) 756-8391, or the private A.J. Chaffe Investigations at (805) 499-8149.