Murder Charges Filed in Bicyclist’s Death

ORANGE COUNTY — Prosecutors filed murder charges Thursday against a Buena Park man accused of hitting a bicyclist and driving for several miles with the teenager’s body jammed on his car windshield.

Isidro Calderon Hernandez, 26, was charged with one count each of murder and felony hit-and-run in the death of John Lee LaBord in Anaheim on Sunday night, said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Chris Kralick.

The filing did not specify the degree of murder, but Kralick said it probably would be second-degree because of Hernandez’s “failure to render aid” to the victim. If convicted, Hernandez would face a prison sentence of from 15 years to life.

Under state law, a person involved in a car accident has a legal obligation to help injured victims. LaBord’s body was dumped on the side of the highway.

Hernandez’s arraignment was set for Sept. 24.

Kralick, because of the ongoing investigation, would not comment on whether LaBord, 18, died on impact with the car or after his body was abandoned on an isolated stretch of Portola Parkway.

Family members said Hernandez, who surrendered Tuesday, has suffered from headaches and depression since falling off scaffolding and injuring his head in 1997.

Hernandez was also under investigation for possible involvement in a hit-and-run accident May 22 in which another bicyclist was hit and suffered scrapes, police said.