Driver flees crash and runs stop sign, killing dad and 5-year-old, California cops say

UPDATE:

The father in the car was identified as Jose Pascagaza, 49, and the mother was identified as Luisa Bernal, 26. Bernal was pronounced dead on Jan. 2, according to a news conference streamed by FOX 11. The 1-year-old remains in critical condition, police said.

The original story is below.

A dad and his 5-year-old daughter died when a driver fleeing a crash ran a stop sign and struck their vehicle, California police said.

On Dec. 31, a family of four was driving in Los Angeles when a driver in a speeding SUV hit them, according to a Jan. 1 news release by the police department.

A group of bystanders started trying to pull the family out of the “smoking” wreck and the mother, 5-year-old and 1-year-old were sent to a hospital, officials said.

The father was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The 5-year-old was pronounced dead by medical staff at the hospital and the mother and 1-year-old are in critical condition, officers said.

Investigators believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the crash, police told KTLA.

Police didn’t publicly identify the family members or the driver.

McClatchy News reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department on Jan. 2 and is awaiting a response.

“I had my daughter inside and I told her, this is why we don’t go out at night, because people drive sometimes terribly or they’re drinking and driving,” a neighbor in the area, Timothy Vizza, told KTLA. “It’s scary.”

The driver of the SUV was transported to a hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries and could face murder and gross vehicular manslaughter charges, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 323-421-2500, police told KNBC.

This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Driver flees crash and runs stop sign, killing dad and 5-year-old, California cops say."