Santa Ana : Police Seek 2nd Driver in Death of Pedestrian

Police said Friday they still were not sure who was at fault in the death of a 17-year-old girl who was struck by a car as she crossed South Main Street on Thursday night.

Police said the girl, Michele Tracy, and a friend were crossing at St. Gertrude Place near the intersection when they were struck by a northbound car.

The friend, Elizabeth Wright, 31, was able to make her way back to the sidewalk, but Tracy was thrown into the southbound lanes, where a southbound motorist ran over her and fled, police said.

Tracy died at the scene, police said. Wright was treated at Mercy General Hospital for abrasions and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Investigator Tony Duran said witnesses gave conflicting descriptions of the southbound car that ran over Tracy. The driver of the northbound car, whom police did not identify, did not leave the scene of the accident. She was not cited, pending completion of the investigation.

Duran said he had not come to a conclusion about who was at fault. “They (the pedestrians) may have been crossing the street illegally. I’m still investigating that portion of it,” Duran said.