The Los Angeles Police Department and KCAL 9’s “Crime Stoppers Case Files” have partnered with Carson Councilman Mike Gipson and his wife LeCresha to reopen the unsolved case of the hit-and-run death of their 3-year-old son D’Ance Nathaniel Barnes who was killed on March 18, 1989 at the intersection of Gage and Van Ness avenues. KCAL 9 “Crime Stoppers Case Files” will air a special reenactment of the crime in July in hopes of helping to find the unidentified hit-and-run driver.
According to the LAPD, at approximately 8:55 p.m. on March 18, 1989, a motorist in a 1974-1985 two-door white or light brown Cadillac traveling north on Van Ness Avenue toward Gage Avenue hit Barnes as he ran into the roadway. The motorist, described as being a 32-34-year-old Black female with black hair, approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 110-120 pounds, stopped momentarily before continuing northbound on Van Ness Avenue. Barnes sustained severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he later died. The motorist was never identified.
Twenty-three years later, Gipson and his wife are still seeking justice and are calling on the public’s support in apprehending the suspect.
“Even though it’s been 23 years, for us as a family, it’s like it happened yesterday,” explained Gipson. “A part of our family is missing and gone forever, and we just want justice for D’Ance.”
To help bring attention to the crime, donated billboards will be erected near the intersection where the accident took place and there will be a press conference announcing a $25,000 reward on Saturday, June 9–a reward that was initiated by 8th District Councilman Bernard Parks, in search of information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspected driver.
The LAPD South Traffic Division is asking that anyone with information regarding this incident to please call Detective S. Smith or Investigator R. Mendoza at (323) 421-2500 or (877) LAPD-24-7.
