Girl’s death not the result of hit-and-run, police say

Two drivers who struck a 13-year-old girl who was crossing Sunset Boulevard on her way to catch her school bus have not been charged in her death, Los Angeles police announced.

The preliminary investigation into the girl’s Friday morning death found that it was a tragic accident rather than a hit-and-run crime, as was initially believed, said Los Angeles Police Capt. Nancy Lauer.

“At this point, we have not arrested nor have we booked either of the drivers,” she said. “It appears to be a horrible accident.”

Julia Siegler, an eighth-grader at Harvard-Westlake School, was struck about 7:20 a.m. and rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where she died.

Early reports indicated that she was struck by two hit-and-run drivers, but police said late Friday night that this was not the case. Instead, according to Lauer, witnesses said the girl was crossing the street on a red signal and was grazed by the side-view mirror of one car, which knocked her off balance. A second vehicle, driven by a juvenile, then ran her over.

Both drivers stopped at the scene, which was described as “extremely chaotic,” Lauer said. They remained there until the girl was taken by ambulance to the hospital, Lauer said.

seema.mehta@latimes.com