A Pomona family is devastated after a 6-year-old girl was killed and her 19-year-old sister was seriously injured when a driver hit them as they crossed the street in a marked crosswalk Tuesday evening .
The collision occurred shortly after 8 p.m. at the intersection of Towne and Lexington avenues.
When Pomona Police Department officers arrived on scene, they found 6-year-old Guadalupe Alvarez Salgado and her older sister, Mireya, lying in the street.
Mireya was taken to hospital in critical condition, where she remains in the intensive care unit. Guadalupe, or Lupe as everyone called her, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“It shook me to my core,” said Mathew Leal, who has lived on the same property as the sisters for years. “Even though I haven’t really talked to her, I’ve kind of watched her grow up. I’ve been here since he was born. I am truly sorry for their loss. We will always be there for them.
Lupe, who lived nearby with his family, was a student at Philadelphia Elementary School, less than a mile from the crash site.
Neighbors told KTLA that the sisters and their mother, who was walking right behind them when they were hit, were returning from a walk to the store, which they did often.
Police said a 19-year-old from Upland driving a silver Honda Accord was heading north on Towne Avenue when he struck the sisters.
The 19-year-old man stopped after the collision and cooperated with police. In video of the scene obtained by KTLA, he can be seen taking a sobriety test administered by the officers.
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Guadalupe Alvarez Salgado, 6, seen in this undated family photo. (viewer photo) -
Pomona police seen administering a sobriety test to the 19-year-old driver on May 28, 2024. (KNN) -
The 19-year-old Upland driver was seen cooperating with police after the fatal collision on May 28, 2024. (KNN) -
Car filmed by a surveillance camera moments before the fatal accident on May 28, 2024. (viewer photo)
Ernesto Ramirez, who lives around the corner, was outside with his children and witnessed the fatal crash.
In Spanish, he told Nelson that his wife called 911 while he was in shock.
Another neighbor’s camera captured footage of the fatal collision, which shows a vehicle approaching the intersection and appearing to slow down. A few seconds later, another car arrives at the intersection, driving much faster and a loud noise from the impact is heard.
Although police have not yet confirmed whether the vehicle in the video is the Honda Accord involved in the crash, it was captured by the nearby camera around the same time as the crash.
Many neighbors told KTLA that the intersection was dangerous and there had been many accidents, with some speeding drivers showing little regard for families or children returning home from several neighboring schools.
“A lot of people speed here,” Leal said.
Investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, but said they will look at other factors, including whether the 19-year-old was driving at a high speed or was distracted at the time. the accident.