Two Elderly Women Killed by Hit-Run Car

Two elderly women crossing a busy street in Hollywood were struck and killed by a car driven by a hit-and-run driver, police said this morning.

Hildegard Haskell, 77, and her landlady, Hazel Selden, 80, were crossing near their home at Beachwood and Cocos drives about 8 p.m. Wednesday when a woman in her 40s driving a gray, 1984 Buick struck them, Police Officer John Schlank said. Investigators at the scene said the women were legally within an unmarked crossing when they were struck.

Selden was pronounced dead at the scene, while Haskell was taken by ambulance to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where she died a short time later.

The driver of the car surrendered to police this morning. Beatrice Buocz, 42, of Hollywood was being held on suspicion of manslaughter, authorities said.

Haskell’s son, Carl Haskell Hanson, who lives a block from his mother, complained that the area beneath the Hollywood sign has become overrun with traffic.

“There are just too many people now in too much of a hurry. There are no crosswalks, no lights; even crossing in the daylight is difficult,” he said. “Twenty years ago, this was all single-family homes.”