BURBANK : Police Widen Inquiry in Hit-and-Run Death

Burbank police have stepped up efforts to find the driver whose car struck and killed a Glendale High School student as she and her date were walking to their car after a homecoming dance at The Castaway restaurant last month.

More than 300 students at the high school were interviewed last week, and hundreds of letters have been sent to students’ parents as police search for clues to who caused the death of Lili Barajas, an 11th-grade student.

The accident occurred just before midnight Nov. 11--Lili’s 16h birthday. She died the following day.

Although there is still no suspect in the case, police say they hope the interviews will help lead them to the driver of the dark gray 1980s Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 that struck the girl and her escort, Gonzalo Espinozo, who suffered a broken arm.

“Right now, we’re following up on the interviews,” Officer Manny Garcia said Tuesday. “Some students gave us the names of other students who may know something or may have heard something, so we’re following up on each one. There’s a lot of leg work involved.”

Lili and Espinozo had left the dance and were walking back to the car along an access road leading to the hilltop restaurant when they were hit. Witnesses have told police that the car that struck the couple was weaving erratically and police believe the driver may have been intoxicated, Garcia said.

The high school had rented one of three banquet rooms at the restaurant for the dance. The other two rooms were rented by a group of Armenian students from UCLA and a wedding party.

The UCLA students concluded their function that night about 1 a.m., and police have sent 297 letters to people who attended in hopes of finding new information. Police have also contacted people who attended the wedding reception but, because that event ended about an hour before the accident, it is unlikely that the suspect was one of the attendees, Garcia said.

Glendale High School Dean of Students Hasmik Danielian said the school is doing its best to help police bring the suspect to justice. During the student interviews, which lasted all week, police used the school’s offices and conference rooms, Danielian said.

Danielian said she does not think the suspect was one of Lili’s classmates.

“Anything is possible, but we know there was no drinking at our party. None whatsoever,” Danielian said.

Garcia added that, based on their interviews with the students, police also think it is unlikely that a fellow student is responsible.

“Our impression was that if it was someone from Glendale High, the students would have turned them in,” he said.