Santa Clarita hit-run investigated as hate crime

VALENCIA, SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KABC) -- A hit and run in Santa Clarita is being investigated by authorities as a hate crime.

The victim, who only wanted to be identified as "Brian," said he was walking his 11-month-old poodle on Pueblo Drive Friday night when three young men drove by and yelled gay slurs at him.

Brian says he then tied up the dog and walked out into the street. He wanted to talk to the young men to ask them why they would think he was gay and why they would call him names. But what he thought was going to be a teachable moment turned into a hit and run.

"They stopped and they aimed for me and then I kind of jumped up and I ended up on top of the hood because they hit me, and once I was on the hood they floored it, and then I went rolling off the back of the car," Brian said.

Brian suffered no serious injuries in the accident but he did injure his ankle and has scrapes and bruises on his hands.

The victim's fiancee, who is a high school teacher in Santa Clarita and also did not want to be named, said the incident has left her in disbelief.

"To hear that my fiance had been hit by a car and called that gay slur, whether or not he's gay or not, I can't believe that someone would do that while he's walking his dog," she said. "And it just went racing through my mind that I could lose him."

Brian described the car as a maroon Toyota Corolla with a spoiler on the back. Anyone with information is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Santa Clarita station at (661) 255-1121.

Get more Los Angeles News »

hit and run, hate crime, los angeles news, melissa macbride

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•