Police say the driver was arrested Tuesday near his Carson workplace after a Central Traffic Division investigation into the September 30 collision.
South Los Angeles, CA - October 22, 2026
Charges were filed Thursday against a 29-year-old man after an alleged hit-and-run left an 83-year-old pedestrian dead in South Los Angeles. The case centers on a collision near Central Avenue and 69th Street, according to MyNewsLA.com.
Key Facts
- Date: About 8:43 p.m. on Sept. 30; charges reported Thursday, October 22, 2026
- Location: Central Avenue and 69th Street, South Los Angeles
- Type of crash: Alleged hit-and-run involving a pedestrian
- Vehicles involved: One dark blue four-door sedan
- Injuries / fatalities: One fatality
- Responding agencies: Los Angeles Police Department; Los Angeles Fire Department
- Reported by: MyNewsLA.com
Crash Overview
Police responded around 8:43 p.m. on Sept. 30 after receiving reports that a pedestrian had been struck by a dark blue sedan traveling south on Central Avenue. Police said the sedan did not stop and left the scene without aiding the victim. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were called to the location and declared the pedestrian deceased. The victim was subsequently named as Akil Saud Batanikhalfani, 83.
Police said Central Traffic Division detectives investigated the collision. The driver, John Anthony Cardenas, was arrested Tuesday near his workplace in Carson. Detectives later executed a search warrant at his home and impounded his vehicle as evidence.
The criminal complaint filed Thursday lists three felony charges against Cardenas: murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and hit-and-run driving that resulted in death or serious injury. The complaint also contains allegations of a prior 2025 conviction for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, as well as allegations that he inflicted great bodily injury or used a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon and fled the scene. These are allegations in a criminal complaint.