One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Actress Stopping to Help Injured Animal in Griffith Park Killed in Hit-and-Run
Zina Bethune (IMDB)
A woman who pulled over and got out of her car to help an ailing animal in Griffith Park this weekend was killed in a hit-and-run, reports KTLA. Zina Freeley, 66, who went by her maiden name Zina Bethune, was struck by two different vehicles on Forest Lawn Drive shortly after midnight Sunday.Bethune, who was just four days away from her 67th birthday, was first struck as she walked towards an animal she spotted lying in the road by a vehicle going eastbound on Forest Lawn Drive.
The impact threw Bethune's body into the westbound lane, and she was struck a second time and dragged underneath that vehicle for over 600 feet, says Los Angeles Police Department Officer Cleon Joseph.
The LAPD are looking for the white car and its driver, spotted fleeing the scene just after Bethune was hit the second time.
Bethune, a former ballerina and actress, was in several daytime TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s. Having suffered from hip dysplasia and scoliosis for many years, Bethune founded an organization to help disabled children participate in dance-related activities in the 1980s that thrives to this day.
The LAPD ask that anyone who has information about the hit-and-run to contact them immediately.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
