Driver sought after crashing into parked cars, fleeing scene in Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- Law enforcement personnel are searching for a driver who slammed their car into parked cars in Whittier.

A loud crash awoke several residents in the quite neighborhood that night. On surveillance video caught by the Stolt family, a car is shown careening down the street, ramming into a black truck and then hitting an SUV in their driveway.

The driver comes to a short stop then tries to back out of the driveway, hitting the black truck two more times. The suspect's car has a smashed hood and it appeared to be smoking in the video.

Lisa Papzian Stolt said she heard a loud bang that seemed to shake her house. Their neighbor across the street, Mark Melnick, rushed out of his home after hearing the crash and went after the driver.

"He was having difficulty driving because he was riding on his rim, the hood was bashed in and his air bags had deployed, actually," he said.

Melnick added that he found the abandoned car in a parking lot a few blocks down the road. The Stolts believe someone linked to the crash returned to the scene.

Lisa said another car drove up by the neighborhood a few times, stopped at their home and a man stepped out of the car to take photos of the damage before taking off.

The black pick-up truck belonged to 19-year-old Shawn Stolt and the van that was damaged was his project car.

"My heart breaks for my son because he's 19 years old, he's hard-working and, you know, his bus is his pride and joy. So for that to get damaged, along with his work vehicle - he's just been devastated all day," Lisa said.

The Whittier Police Department said it is investigating the hit-and-run, but so far no one has been taken into custody. Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the department.