7-Year-Old Injured in Car Crash Dies

A 7-year-old boy who was critically injured in a car crash that killed his mother on the way to a soccer tournament in Irvine died Monday afternoon.

Carlos Lima of Culver City died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana about 5 p.m., a spokeswoman for the coroner said.

He was traveling with a brother and his parents when their car broke down in the car-pool lane on the San Diego Freeway near Euclid Street about 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The father, also named Carlos Lima, turned on the emergency lights and tried to get to the shoulder lane, but was rear-ended by a minivan heading for the same tournament, according to California Highway Patrol officers.

CHP investigators said another vehicle was seen striking the Limas’ car and then leaving the scene.

The impact of the crash caused Miriam Lima, 36, to be thrown to the back of the vehicle. She died at the scene. Her husband and another son were hospitalized as well, a CHP officer said. Another man and his 15-year-old daughter who were in the minivan were injured and treated at UCI Medical Center in Orange, authorities said.