Driver caught on tape

[Royalpurple209]

Driver caught on tape

Car briefly carried girl on hood but kept going

Friday, May 4 2007

Kern County sheriff's Sgt. Matt Lee wishes he could freeze the video and pluck the child crossing the street out of harm's way.

He's watched the footage of 5-year-old Erica Paulina Guerra getting struck by the car numerous times, and it's taken a toll on him. He said he and emergency responders are pretty shook up by the hit-and-run that killed Guerra at a Wasco intersection Thursday evening.

"She's just a 5-year-old girl," Lee said, wiping away tears after a news conference Friday morning. "I keep thinking about everything in life she's going to miss out on."

Jeannette Albert, Erica's pre-kindergarten teacher at John L. Prueitt School, described the child as a quiet, shy girl who had moments when her face lit up in a huge smile.

"I personally had a relationship with this little girl," Albert said Friday evening. "I'm going to be very aware of that loss in my classroom."

Surveillance video taken from a Fastrip at the intersection where the hit-and-run occurred shows how the horrifying incident played out.

Erica, her brother and their mother were on F Street crossing Poso Drive at 7 p.m. when Erica stopped, apparently to tie her shoes. The mother and brother continued across the street. Erica looked up, saw them ahead of her and ran to catch up.

A westbound car hit Erica and briefly carried her on its hood before she fell beneath its wheels. Her body landed 80 to 100 feet from where she was first struck, Lee said.

He was at a loss to explain how someone could leave the scene. It had to be obvious to the driver that a person was hit, he said.

"I can't find any rational thought as to why (the driver) didn't stop," Lee said.

Gilberto Lopez was inside the Fastrip when the hit-and-run occurred. When he walked outside, Erica was lying motionless in the street. She died a short time later at Kern Medical Center, a Kern County coroner's office news release said.

Lee said officials believe the vehicle was a 2000 model gray or silver Ford Taurus with tinted back windows. The car may have some front fender or windshield damage.

Lee hopes the surveillance video will spur someone, maybe even the driver, to come forward.

"Do the right thing, that's all we're asking," Lee said.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO. Surveillance footage of a young girl hit while crossing the road. The police need your help finding the owner of this car.

www.bakersfield.com/multi...gotoplayer
www.bakersfield.com/619/s...34801.html

[Royalpurple209]

Surveillance video released of hit and run that killed young girl

Posted 5/4/07

BAKERSFIELD - A 5-year-old girl died last night after she was struck by a car in Wasco. The driver left the scene, but the whole incident was caught on surveillance video.
The video shows Erica Paulina Guerra stopping for a moment to tie her shoelace before she ran to catch up with her mother, Laura Guerra.

Laura Guerra sadly remembers those final moments before her daughter was hit by a car identified in the video as a late model Ford Taurus or Contour. It was traveling about 35 mph.

Sheriff’s deputies said Erica was carried almost 100 feet before she was run over by the vehicle.

The driver did not stop to render aid.

"I understand people do a lot of things when they're under stress and they don't think clearly and there could be a lot of reasons on why someone did not show up or did not stop,” said Cmdr. Matt Lee from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. “We're appealing to the person who was driving, call us."

Deputies said witnesses observed a Hispanic man in his 20’s or 30’s driving, possibly with a passenger aboard.

Ricardo Iniguez is a close family friend who said Erica witnessed the death of her father 18 months ago in a car accident.

The family has barely survived the emotional and physical toll of that fatality, and now Erica joins her father, he said.

"Suffering, pain, anguish, and just complete disbelief that this could happen again, so quickly too," said Iniguez.

Jennette Albert was one of Erica’s preschool teachers at John Prueitt School in Wasco.

“Just a sweet, quite child, very well behaved,” said Albert. “One of those kids that when I did get her to smile, it just made my day.”

The family has set up a Bank of America account in memory of Erica Paulina Guerra in Wasco. The account number is 00041-41469, and all contributions will help cover the family’s loss.

www.kget.com/news/local/s...f22&rss=91

[Royalpurple209]

Services set for 5-year-old killed in Wasco

BY DAVID BURGER, Californian staff writer

May 5 2007

Funeral services for Erica Paulina Guerra, the 5-year-old girl killed by a hit-and-run driver in Wasco Thursday, have been set for Wednesday.

The funeral Mass will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. John's Catholic Church, according to Peters Funeral Home.

Guerra will be buried at Wasco Memorial Park, and a rosary service will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Peters Funeral Home, 1401 Seventh St., in Wasco.

Erica, her brother and their mother were on F Street crossing Poso Drive at 7 p.m. when Erica stopped, apparently to tie her shoes. Her mother and brother continued across the street. Erica looked up, saw them ahead of her and ran to catch up.

A westbound car hit Erica and briefly carried her on its hood before she fell beneath its wheels. Her body landed 80 to 100 feet from where she was first struck, Kern County sheriff's deputies said.

She died a short time later at Kern Medical Center, a Kern County coroner's office news release said.

Deputies believe the vehicle was a 2000 model gray or silver Ford Taurus with tinted back windows. The car may have some front fender or windshield damage.

As of Friday evening, deputies were still looking for the driver of the car that hit Erica.

Efforts to reach the Kern County Sheriff's Department to see if the driver had been caught were unsuccessful Saturday.

www.bakersfield.com/619/s...35224.html

[daphnechambers]

I hope that they find who did this. OMG! Do they have any leads?

[Royalpurple209]

Suspect in fatal hit and run named

By STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer,
Friday, May 11 2007

On May 3, 5-year-old Erica Guerra was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Wasco. This week, another 5-year-old girl, who did not know Erica, had her back.

The unidentified 5-year-old, a kindergarten student at John Prueitt Elementary School in Wasco, provided information which led to the identification of 17-year-old Salvador Garcia Jr. of Delano as a suspect in Erica's death.

Sheriff Donny Youngblood and Sgt. Matt Lee said they are seeking Garcia, a drop-out high school student this year in Delano, on felony charges of hit and run and vehicular manslaughter, as well as misdemeanor charges of driving without a license.

Erica's death was captured on a store videotape when a silver car, first believed to be a Ford Taurus but later determined to be a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue (the predecessor to the Alero), struck her in a crosswalk at Poso Drive and F Street, Lee said.

The Oldsmobile was found this week on State Route 43 at Avenue 16 in Tulare County where had been burned at that location, Lee said. The car, which is believed to contain important physical evidence, has been transported to a sheriff's impound lot in Kern County, Lee said.

Sheriff's investigators have received "hundreds of leads" since May 4 when a video of the crash was released to the news media, but on Wednesday the 5-year-old girl reported to a babysitter and a teacher some "disturbing" information he overheard among her mother and some friends at her home, Lee said.

That got relayed to the school's resource officer, Deputy Mike Whorf, on Wednesday night and by Thursday, deputies found two men, ages 18 and 20, and a 16-year-old girl who were in the car with Garcia at the time of the crash, the sergeant said.

Those witnesses identified Garcia and said that he had stopped the car for a stop sign on westbound Poso Drive where they saw Erica's mother, Adriana, 27, and her 4-year-old brother, Brandon, crossing the street.

It's less clear who, if anyone, saw Erica — who had stopped briefly to tie her shoe — run out after her mother and brother, Lee said.

While the passengers may have had a moral obligation to come forward with what they knew, they did not have a legal obligation, Lee said. The driver did have a legal obligation, he said. The passengers are now considered to be witnesses. The sheriff noted that anyone who knowingly harbors Garcia will likely be arrested on charges of harboring a fugitive. Anyone with information on Garcia's whereabouts is asked to call 861-3110.

Garcia went back to his home after the crash. He stayed there until Monday, Lee said. His parents reported the car stolen on Tuesday.

Garcia's parents did not know their son was involved in the hit-and-run crash, Lee said. They have been cooperative, the sergeant said.

Lee said deputies believe that the suspect is still in or near Kern County.

When investigators told Erica's mother that a suspect had been identified, "she broke down and cried, hugged us and thanked us," Lee said.

www.bakersfield.com/619/s...39389.html

[Royalpurple209]

Wasco hit & run driver turns himself in

Posted 5/11/07

BAKERSFIELD - There has been an arrest Friday night in connection with last week’s hit and run accident that killed a young Wasco girl, and detectives said it was a 5-year-old girl that ultimately lead them to identify the suspect.
Late Friday afternoon, that suspect turned himself in to authorities.

Salvador Garcia is now in police custody, partly because a 5-year-old girl overheard a conversation. That led her to produce a breakthrough in the case, and answer prayers for the young hit and run victim’s mother.

Erica Guerra’s mother is grateful to the child who helped detectives identify Salvador Garcia, Jr.—the suspected driver who killed her daughter.

The heartbroken mother said if she got a chance to meet the little girl, she would give her a hug.

Sheriff’s detectives announced at a press conference Friday they received hundreds of leads about the hit and run crash caught on surveillance video.

The critical tip came from the Pruiett Elementary School student, whose identity remains a mystery.

“Without the 5-year-old feeling comfortable coming forward to come and talk to her teacher, we would be out there chasing leads,” said Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Matt Lee.

The girl told deputies about the conversation she heard at home, and investigators followed the lead.

“The mother then indicated the names of the three passengers and the name the driver goes by,” Lee said.

Deputies said Garcia turned himself in just after 2 p.m. Friday.

Now Erica’s mother is praying for harsh punishment, saying if she could drive, she would have him step in front of her moving car so he would know what her daughter went through.

Garcia will be held at a juvenile detention center after turning himself in.

Deputies said at this time, the passengers—two adults and one child—will not face charges because they are considered witnesses.

www.kget.com/news/local/s...b8c&rss=91