Local News in Brief : Suspect Surrenders in Hit-Run Death of Northridge Pedestrian

A 26-year-old Simi Valley man surrendered to police late Tuesday and told them that he was the hit-and-run driver who had struck and killed a pedestrian in Northridge 4 1/2 hours earlier, Los Angeles police said.

Dennis Ambrose was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter in connection with the accident on Corbin Avenue south of Nordhoff Street in Northridge, Detective Don Bellante said. The name of the victim, a 53-year-old man who was struck near his home, was being withheld pending notification of relatives, authorities said.

Witnesses told police that a northbound Chevrolet Camaro hit the man and carried him about 130 feet on the car’s hood, with the driver “making some maneuvers” to shake off the body before fleeing, Bellante said. A damaged car fitting witnesses’ description was found a short time later in the parking lot of the nearby Northridge Fashion Center, Bellante said.

After the accident, Ambrose contacted police by telephone and told them that his car had been stolen that evening from his place of employment in Northridge, Bellante said.

But Bellante said that Ambrose later turned himself in.

Ambrose was released on $2,500 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 21 in Van Nuys Municipal Court, Bellante said.