CHP Seeks to Learn if Driver Knew of Fatality

California Highway Patrol investigators are trying to determine whether the driver of a car that lost a wheel that struck and killed a 5-year-old on the Artesia Freeway knew what had happened.

The car, minus its tire, was found an hour after the accident Wednesday in a residential area near the Carmenita Road exit about a quarter of a mile from the scene, said CHP spokeswoman Sylvia Santana. Investigators had followed the marks made by the rim.

The car had been eastbound in the carpool lane near Shoemaker Road when the front wheel on the driver’s side broke free and smashed the passenger side of a westbound Jeep Cherokee.

Krista Graham of Buena Park, who was strapped into a car seat in the Jeep, suffered massive head injuries, investigators said. She was pronounced dead at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Her mother was not injured.

Santana said the owner of the car, whose name was not released, has been contacted by CHP investigators. They will try to determine whether the driver fled the accident scene in “a hit-and-run situation, or if it was something where [the driver] knew he lost his tire but was unaware of the consequences and just drove off the freeway,” Santana said.