6-Year-Old Girl Dies as Result of Drag Race
A 6-year-old Santa Ana girl died Thursday of injuries suffered in an Aug. 3 accident involving two drag racers that also killed her father and injured two sisters.
Michelle Estrada was declared dead about 6:20 p.m. at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, said Joseph Luckey, a supervising deputy coroner. She had slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness following the accident a week ago, in which her father, Jose Escobar Estrada, also died.
The family’s small passenger car was hit head-on by a pickup that crossed a double yellow line while racing another vehicle through Santa Ana, police said. The driver of the pickup--Arturo Ortiz Jr., 21, who was also injured--has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. Police are still seeking the second driver.
Michelle’s two sisters--Clarabell, 3, and Esmerelda, 11--have been released from the hospital, said Lt. Jose Garcia, a spokesman for the Santa Ana Police Department.
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