Seal Beach : Girl Who Was Injured in Auto Collision Dies

A 6-year-old girl has died following a two-car collision last Sunday that killed one and injured three others on an accident-scarred stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.

Laurie Rowden of Long Beach died of head injuries at 10 p.m. Tuesday at Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The girl’s mother, Leeann Rowden, 26, who was several months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage following the accident and is listed in fair condition at Memorial Medical Center with multiple fractures and internal injuries, according to a hospital spokesperson. Three-year-old Amanda Rowden was treated for cuts at the Long Beach hospital and released.

According to police reports, Rowden was pulling from Phillips Street onto Pacific Coast Highway when her vehicle was struck by a car driven by Scott Hastings, 35, of Huntington Beach. The crash killed Hastings’ wife, Candace, 30, who was a passenger in his car.

Scott Hastings is listed in good condition at Fountain Valley Community Hospital with a head and chest injuries.

According to Seal Beach Police Sgt. Ed Mollohan, the case will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office to see if any charges will be filed. “It’s still under investigation,” Mollohan said.

Laurie Rowden’s death was the 10th fatality in six years along the mostly unlit stretch of highway from Seal Beach Boulevard to Mariner Drive. Officials are hoping that construction of a 1.2-mile, $230,000 concrete center divider, slated to begin Monday, will be at least a partial solution to the problem.

Construction on the barrier will last about two weeks and one lane in each direction will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.