Jonathan Osuna was 19 years old when he died on Thursday, November 29, 2012, near Gardena. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1030 W. El Segundo Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a California Highway Patrol case handled by the CHP's West Los Angeles office.
Unlike many deaths in the Homicide Report, his was covered by the news. The Los Angeles Times reported the next day that police were searching for a driver who had struck and killed a 19-year-old pedestrian outside a Gardena liquor store. Jonathan "was walking with three other men on the north sidewalk of El Segundo Boulevard near Vermont Avenue around 5:15 p.m. Thursday when he was struck by a vehicle, according to California Highway Patrol officials." The car then sped off, and the three other men ran away from the scene. When emergency workers arrived, he was pronounced dead.
The Daily Breeze, citing the CHP, reported that Jonathan had been walking on the sidewalk when, "for an unknown reason," he entered the westbound traffic lanes and was struck. Investigators said it was unknown whether "malicious intent" was involved. The paper identified him as Jonathan Osuna of Los Angeles. An obituary posted by Rose Hills in Whittier gives his dates as January 29, 1993, to November 29, 2012. He had turned 19 only ten months before he died.
The few facts that were released raise obvious questions. It is not known why he stepped into the street, whether something happened between the four young men on the sidewalk, or why his three companions ran instead of staying with him. It is not known whether the driver even stopped to look back. The coroner's ruling of homicide indicates that his death was caused by another person, but the public record does not say whether investigators believed the driver struck him on purpose or fled after an accident.
El Segundo Boulevard is a wide, busy east-west street that runs across the South Bay and the southern edge of South Los Angeles. The stretch near Vermont Avenue, on the edge of Gardena, is a mix of small businesses and homes. At 5:15 p.m. on a Thursday in late November, it would already have been dark, and the boulevard would have been crowded with evening commuters.
That means there may have been many people who saw part of what happened: other drivers, customers at the liquor store, people waiting at bus stops. Some of them may not have realized that the collision they glimpsed ended in a death that was later ruled a homicide.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jonathan Osuna could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on El Segundo Boulevard near Vermont Avenue on the evening of November 29, 2012, or who knows who was driving the car or who was walking with Jonathan, may hold information that could help. The Times asked anyone with information to call Gardena police at 310-217-9607. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can contact the California Highway Patrol, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
