Woman Held in Hit-Run Death of Watts Youth

A Watts-area woman was arrested Saturday after she broke down in tears during questioning and confessed to being one of two motorists involved in the hit-and-run accident that killed 16-year-old Bobby Hobdy on Dec. 19.

Los Angeles police said Maria Del Socorro Benitez, 39, a single parent with three children, was booked at the 77th Division Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. Benitez is being held on $50,000 bail.

“At first she denied having any knowledge of the incident. Then she broke down and confessed,” said Det. Bill Whittaker, who supervises traffic investigations for LAPD’s South Division. “If only she would have stopped and identified herself, she would not be in the trouble she is today.”

Hobdy, a special education student from Watts who attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, was hit by a Plymouth minivan while using a crosswalk to get to a bus stop on Century Boulevard near Wadsworth Avenue. After being knocked 30 feet into oncoming traffic, the injured youth was struck by another vehicle. Both motorists fled.

Police said the driver of the minivan was the first motorist to hit Hobdy, but it is unclear whether one or both drivers were responsible for his death. Whittaker said Benitez has a good driving record and probably was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Using eyewitness accounts and debris left on the street, police determined that one of the vehicles involved was a 1987 or 1988 sky blue Plymouth minivan. Whittaker said that about 100 registered owners of Plymouth minivans live within a five-mile radius of the accident.

During the extensive search of that area, two motorcycle officers saw a blue Plymouth Voyager on Saturday morning parked behind a yellow two-story house in the 1400 block of East 100 Street. It had front-end damage.

Whittaker said the officers went to the house and questioned Benitez, who eventually said she hit Hobdy while on her way to her job as a receptionist for a mini-blind company near downtown. According to police, she said she drove away because she was afraid.

“It is always better to stop and render aid,” Whittaker said at a news conference Saturday. “The biggest mistake you can make is to leave the scene. It is a very irresponsible act.”

Whittaker said Benitez appeared to be very remorseful during questioning by police.

Outside Benitez’s home Saturday, her neighbors and acquaintances were shocked by her alleged involvement in the hit-and-run accident. Some of them knew about Hobdy’s death, which occurred less than two blocks away, but they never suspected that Benitez could have been one of the drivers.

“She has such sweet kids. Her family--they are beautiful people,” said Sonya Smith, whose mother lives across the street from Benitez. “Maria is a really, really friendly person.”

Police said they have little information about the second vehicle, except that it was a compact car. At the news conference, Whittaker requested that the other motorist surrender to authorities. “It is time to come forward, step up to the plate and take responsibility for what happened,” he said.

Whittaker said anyone with information about the second driver can call him or Det. Eugene Tapia at (213) 485-2088 or the South Traffic watch commander at (213) 485-7336.