Driver Sought in Death of Girl Tossed From Truck

San Diego police are asking for help in identifying a girl who was thrown from a pickup truck early Sunday on Interstate 5 near Old Town. The truck was going an estimated 60 m.p.h.

A witness chased the truck for several minutes and provided police with some details of the incident and a description of the truck, said Sgt. Frank Martinez, a homicide investigator.

The witness described the pickup as a red, four-wheel-drive Toyota with California license plates. It had oversized tires and a raised chassis, Martinez said. The word Toyota was written in white letters across the tailgate.

Martinez said the witness told police he was northbound in the slow lane of I-5 about 1:30 a.m., behind the Toyota, when he saw the girl lean left toward the driver, saw the passenger door open, then saw the girl ejected from the truck.

The girl landed on a service road about 50 feet north of the Old Town exit. Her body was found by San Diego police officers driving a few minutes later. Paramedics were called, but the girl died of internal injuries within minutes of their arrival, Martinez said.

Martinez said the girl was unable to speak before she died. “She was in a lot of pain,” he said.

Martinez said there were no signs of sexual assault or that she had been beaten before she was thrown from the truck.

Martinez said the witness followed the truck as it headed east on Interstate 8. The driver of the Toyota turned off his lights at that time, Martinez said. The Toyota exited at Morena Boulevard, cut across a traffic island, hit a concrete divider, and got onto Taylor Street. At Taylor Street, he turned onto Juan Street and headed east, Martinez said.

The witness lost sight of the Toyota when a car similar to a Datsun Z turned onto Juan Street and got between them, Martinez said.

The witness then returned to I-5 and told police what he had seen.

Police believe the girl is a Latina. She is believed to be between 11 and 14 years old, with dark brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She is about 5 feet tall and weighs 119 pounds. She was wearing a black and brown pull-over and black jeans with a Discovery name tag on them. She was wearing white lace-up sandals, and her toenails where painted pink.

She had no other identifying marks on her, Martinez said, adding that the only distinctive feature police have to work with is that that she had a filling in a lower right baby molar.

The driver of the Toyota was described simply as a big man, Martinez said.

Martinez said police hope that other drivers on I-5 or the driver of the Z-type car may have gotten a glimpse of the driver of the Toyota and will come forward. Anyone with information can call Martinez at 531-2293.