A 73-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run in West Hollywood that left a man riding a bicycle dead last week, authorities confirm.
Douglas Morton Adams was arrested on Tuesday and charged with one felony count of hit-and-run causing death, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.
The collision occurred around 9:45 p.m. on July 10 as the bicyclist, later identified as Blake Ackerman, was traveling westbound on Fountain Avenue near Gardner Street. The preliminary investigation into the incident revealed that the car that struck him was a white “older model” BMW sedan driving at an undisclosed speed.
That BMW fled the scene of the crash instead of stopping to render aid and identify themselves as required by law, authorities said.
Ackerman, 26, was rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. His employer, the law firm Morgan Lewis, said he was a litigation associate who graduated from USC in 2020 and got his law degree from Loyola Law School three years later.
“Blake was kind, vibrant, and full of limitless potential. He lived well and accomplished so much in his all-too-short years,” the firm said in a statement.
A GoFundMe set up to support Blake’s family – which raised over $163,000 as of Wednesday morning – further described Blake as “a bright light, full of energy, kindness and an unshakable love for those around him.”
“Whether he was bringing people together, planning the next snowboard trip, cheering on the Dodgers and the Kings, swimming in the oceans of Hawaii or playing water polo, Blake lived every day to its fullest,” the GoFundMe states. “He was the heart of his family, an adoring brother and uncle-in-waiting, a devoted son and grandson and an integral part of every community he joined.”
A memorial service was held for Blake on Tuesday in Simi Valley. Per the WeHo Times, a ghost bike memorial – a bicycle painted white and placed at the site of a bicyclist’s death – is set to be installed on Wednesday morning.
According to inmate search records, Douglas Morton Adams was being held on $50,000 bail and bonded out on Tuesday night.
No court date was listed for the 73-year-old suspect.
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