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No arrest in ‘tragic accident’ that killed mother, injured 6-year-old child, police say

A pickup truck is crashed into a building.
A 35-year-old woman was killed and her 6-year-old daughter critically injured in a traffic crash at Colgate Avenue and Ogden Drive near Hancock Park Elementary School in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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A medical emergency may have been responsible for the “tragic accident” that occurred Tuesday morning when a pickup truck plowed into a mother and daughter, killing the mom near Hancock Park Elementary School, according to police.

Police had been investigating the driver and suggested Tuesday that “drugs or alcohol” were possible contributors to the crash that killed the 35-year-old woman, whose name was not immediately released. The 6-year-old daughter was hospitalized in critical condition Monday and police did not provide an update on her status.

But on Wednesday police walked back their assessment of the crash, saying it seemed to be an accident.

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“At this time based on the totality of the circumstances, this appears to be a tragic accident that possibly resulted from a medical emergency,” said the department in a news release.

The department said that they had identified the driver of the pickup and that he was not in custody.

“There is a potential that charges may be filed at a later date,” the department added.

The driver was allegedly speeding when he crashed into the mother and daughter, who were walking in a crosswalk near the school around 8 a.m. in Mid-Wilshire.

After hitting them, he drove into a two-story apartment building on the 6200 block of Colgate Avenue, according to police.

The woman died at the scene. Her daughter — and the driver of the truck — were hospitalized, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The man was in “moderate condition.”

A woman who came out of a home immediately after the crash said she held the little girl in her arms before an ambulance came to take the child to a hospital, according to NBC.

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“‘Baby girl, you are not alone. I’m here, baby. Hear my voice,” the woman, Cassandra, said to the girl, according to the report.

Cassandra heard the girl moan and saw her mother, who was clearly dead.

“I want the family, if anyone is listening, to know that in those moments, she was not alone. She was not alone. I did not let go of her hand,” Cassandra said.

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