KTLA

Suspected driver arrested in Playa del Rey hit-and-run that left Downey mother dead

Wendy Galdamez is seen with her family in an undated photo posted to a GoFundMe page.

A suspected hit-and-run driver was arrested Wednesday after a crash in Playa del Rey over the weekend killed a mother who’d been visiting the beach with her family, officials said.

Darwin Dantzler, 39, was arrested Wednesday morning, said Mike Lopez, a media relations officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. Lopez was unable to provide further details on the circumstances of Dantzler’s arrest.

Booking records show Dantzler was being held on $50,000 bail following his arrest around 11:30 a.m.

He’s accused in the crash that killed 33-year-old Downey resident Wendy Galdamez around 11 p.m. Saturday on the 8800 block of Vista del Mar, a busy street that runs along the beach.

She’d spent the day at the beach with her husband and two children, and was cradling her 3-year-old son when she was hit by a dark-colored Toyota 4Runner, relatives said.

Galdamez died at the scene, while her son was hospitalized but will recover, officials said.

Loved ones have created a GoFundMe campaign to help the family through the grieving process. It had raised more than $6,000 of its $7,000 goal by Wednesday night.

Investigators have not said how Dantzler was connected to the crash.

He’s scheduled to appear in court Jan. 12, inmate records show.