BALDWIN PARK, Calif., April 5 (UPI) -- Connor Penhall, son of champion motorcycle racer and actor Bruce Penhall, was struck and killed by a suspected drunken driver, California police said Thursday.
KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, said Penhall, 21, of Corona, was doing concrete cutting work under contract for the state Transportation Department when he was fatally injured about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday on the 10 Freeway in Baldwin Park.
The California Highway Patrol said the driver who allegedly hit Penhall, Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, 37, of Arcadia, tried to flee the scene but was held by police, the TV station said. The Los Angeles Times reported he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license, police said.
Bruce Penhall was the World Speedway champion in 1981 and 1982. As an actor, he is best known for his role in the final season of the TV motorcycle cops show "CHiPs."
