A 15-year-old girl who was hospitalized earlier this month when the driver of a stolen vehicle she was riding in crashed during a police pursuit has died, authorities announced today.
Few details of how the pursuit started were immediately available, but Long Beach police said officers with the Orange Police Department were pursuing a suspect in a stolen vehicle during the early hours of Friday, March 8.
At some point, the driver of the stolen vehicle made their way to Long Beach and sped westbound on Seventh Street where they crashed into another vehicle at Orange Avenue, police said.
The impact caused the driver of the stolen vehicle to lose control and crash into five parked cars before coming to a stop in the roadway, police said. The driver then fled the scene, police said.
Long Beach police were notified of the crash just before 1:40 a.m. and responded to the intersection to assist city of Orange officers, according to authorities.
The 15-year-old girl, who police say was a passenger in the stolen vehicle, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition with multiple life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
She died from her injuries five days later on March 13, according to police, who said they were notified of her death Monday. Her identity was not released because she is a minor, police said.
Officers with the Orange Police Department are still investigating the stolen vehicle and pursuit while Long Beach detectives look into the fatal crash, police said. Police did not say whether the driver in the stolen vehicle has been located.
Police asked anyone with more information to contact detectives at 562-570-7355.