The California Highway Patrol is trying to determine what led to a Sunday morning crash in Concord that left a 9-year-old girl dead.
The CHP said the girl was among three passengers ejected from a car when it crashed near the Interstate 680/Highway 242 split. She died at the scene.
Her 32-year-old mother, 13-year-old sister and two 17-year-old cousins were all taken to the hospital with major injuries. The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, fled the scene.
"We’re going to be interviewing the family members," CHP Officer Adam Lane said. "They’re still in the hospital trying to recover from their injuries."
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The CHP said a seatbelt could have saved the girl’s life. They said it appears at least three of the passengers were not wearing them.
"When we see these types of collisions, the seatbelt is often what makes the difference between it just being an injury collision and a deadly collision," Lane said.
Meanwhile, the CHP is focused on finding the driver, who faces felony hit-and-run and manslaughter charges. They are urging him to turn himself in.
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"It’s definitely a priority for us to be able to talk to him, figure out what happened that night," Lane said.
