SANTA MONICA — The Santa Monica Police Department confirmed it has arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal hit-and-run collision that killed two pedestrians and critically injured two others on October 24, 2025, along the 1300 block of Wilshire Boulevard.
According to SMPD, the Major Accident Response Team led the initial investigation, with detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division later joining due to the severity of the case and the suspect’s alleged efforts to evade capture.
Investigators identified the alleged driver as 38-year-old Alex Kristopher Earl Kirksey. Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office have charged him with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, two counts of felony hit-and-run causing injury, and one count of reckless driving.
Detectives said the vehicle involved in the collision had been rented through an online platform, and that Kirksey traveled out of state in the days following the crash in an apparent attempt to avoid law enforcement. Investigators also determined that the individual who rented the vehicle allegedly arrived at the crash scene after the collision to ask questions about the incident, and later helped the suspect leave California. The extent of that person’s involvement remains under review by the District Attorney.
Search warrants executed during the investigation led detectives to additional electronic records and contact information, which helped determine Kirksey’s location outside the state.
Working with law enforcement partners in the Midwest, SMPD detectives tracked Kirksey to Chicago. With assistance from the Chicago Police Department, he was taken into custody at or near a transit center, where authorities say he appeared to be preparing to leave the area. He has since been extradited to Santa Monica and is now in SMPD custody.
Interim Police Chief Darrick Jacob said this development marks an important milestone in the case, noting that investigators “worked tirelessly to identify and locate those responsible for this senseless act.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman also issued a statement, saying his office remains committed to justice on behalf of the two victims killed — 61-year-old Maura Cohen and 61-year-old Brad Lipshy — as well as the two other victims who remain seriously injured.
Authorities are asking anyone with additional information about the collision to contact Traffic Investigator Lantz Lewis at (310) 458-2201 ext. 5311 or the SMPD Watch Commander’s Office at (310) 458-8427.
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