The Fast and Furious Turn Fatal and Foolish
Street race ends with child's death, bizarre getaway
By JOHN ELLIS
Updated 8:10 AM PST, Tue, Nov 17, 2009
A hit-and-run street racing accident in Menlo Park left a six-year-old girl dead and put her mother in critical condition on Thursday.
The tragic crime was capped off with a bizarre finish: One of the alleged racers made his getaway in his rival's car, cops say.
The two cars were racing northbound down Bayfront Expressway around 2 p.m., police said, when one of the cars, an older black Ford Mustang, ran a red light at Willow Road and struck the passenger side of a Toyota Camry.
Nearby surveillance cameras showed the two cars speeding down Bayfront shortly before the accident, police said. Witnesses told police that immediately after the crash, the driver of the Mustang exited his vehicle and jumped into the car he was allegedly racing with.
Both the mother and her six-year-old daughter were rushed to Stanford Medical Center. The daughter, identified as Lisa Xavier, died of her injuries the next day. Her mother remains in the hospital. The father, who was driving the Camry, was not injured in the accident.
On Monday, police announced that they are looking for a person of interest in the case. Shannon Fox, 24, of East Palo Alto isn’t considered a suspect or an owner of any of the vehicles involved, but it is believed that he has firsthand knowledge of the accident.
Contrary to other reports, police said they have not recovered the getaway vehicle -- only the car which hit the Camry.
Investigators are asking any witnesses that might have seen the accident or has any information about the accident or Shannon Fox to call the Menlo Park Police Department.
First Published: Nov 16, 2009 4:20 PM PST
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