Santa Ana drumline teacher seriously injured in hit-and-run

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A 26-year-old drumline instructor at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana is fighting for his life after being struck by a hit-and-run driver early Wednesday morning.

Police say Chris Chavez was walking in a crosswalk at Bristol Street and Central Avenue with the green light around 2 a.m. when a woman in a black BMW ran the red light and struck him.

Witnesses say she initially got out of the car and tried to contact Chavez. A man on a skateboard came by and said he would go to a nearby hospital for help. Police say the woman then got back into her vehicle and fled the scene, heading north on Bristol and then east on Warner Avenue.

Chavez was hospitalized in serious condition with multiple broken bones. Family members say he is having trouble breathing, so surgery had to be postponed.

Police described the vehicle as a four-door black BMW with paper plates.