Girl Dies Of Injuries After Oakland Hit-And-Run Crash
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A nine-year-old girl has died following a hit-and-run collision Tuesday night in East Oakland that also injured a 25-year-old woman and two other girls, ages 8 and 10, police said Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the hit-and-run SUV and four other occupants all fled on foot, according to police and witnesses.
Officers responded to the intersection of 35th and Paxton avenues just after 9 p.m. and determined that an Infiniti SUV had struck a car containing the woman and the three children. The nature of the relationship between the woman and the girls was not clear.
The three surviving victims are in stable condition, according to police. All four victims are Oakland residents.
"It was horrible ... it was a horrible accident," said witness James Blackwell.
Investigators say that the car's driver was making a U-turn onto southbound 35th Avenue and was struck by the SUV, which was also heading south. After impact, both vehicles also hit other parked cars nearby.
"It breaks my heart about the little girls and they left without even helping the little girls," said neighbor Ruby Cardenas, whose car was severely damaged in the crash.
Blackwell said at first neighbors in the area rushed to help the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle, who was on the ground and seemed unconscious.
"One of the guys that was in the car, they were resuscitating him and trying to bring him back," said Blackwell. "And once [a bystander] gave him mouth-to-mouth, he just got up off the ground and ran straight across the street."
When people realized the woman and girls in the car needed help they rushed toward them. Witnesses said that's when the hit-and-run driver and four passengers ran away.
Police were reviewing surveillance video from a nearby corner market.
Speed may be a factor, but since the driver of the SUV fled it is unclear whether alcohol or drugs may have also contributed to the cause of the collision.
Anyone with additional information about the suspects who fled the scene was asked to contact Officer Pete Huppert at (510) 777-8542.
A $15,000 reward has been offered for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspects.
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