Search continues for reckless driver that fled scene of hit-and-run in Seal Beach
Authorities are still searching for the reckless driver who fled from the scene of a grisly hit-and-run collision that occurred in Seal Beach over the weekend.
Five teenage girls were hospitalized as a result of the crash, two of whom remain in critical condition with internal bleeding and multiple broken bones ranging from pelvis to neck, bone and jaw.
The incident initially happened late Saturday at around 7:15 p.m., when a driver traveling at extremely high speeds hurtled through a red light and slammed into a vehicle making a turn at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street.
Police searched the scene for hours, setting up a large perimeter as they attempted to locate the suspect, who has thus far only been described as man in his early-20s that stands around 5' 10" tall. As they searched, residents in the Hill Neighborhood were asked to shelter indoors.
Days later, KCAL-News has learned that the five injured teenagers are all ballet dancers with a Los Alamitos dance company called Premier Dance Arts. They had just finished an audition and were on their way to Seal Beach when the crash occurred.
"Two of them, we've known since they were 10, so they're like our babies," said Renee Kim, the co-director at Los Alamitos Ballet. "It's definitely torn us apart. We are a super strong family, they love each other so much. They were so excited to go out. One of the moms told me two days before that they were making plans to have dinner and they were so excited."
"Many of them are looking at long-term disability," said David Kim, the other co-director of the dance studio. "We're just concerned of course for their immediate financial needs and hospital bills and missing work."
It's those concerns that prompted the couple to start a GoFundMe for the girls, which can be found by searching the keywords: "Los Alamitos Ballet Dancers' Hospital Expenses."
Thus far, the GoFundMe has raised more than $24,000 of the $30,000 goal.
Kim said that on top of teaching the youth how to dance, he also teaches them to be resilient, tough and overcome obstacles.
"We've seen them do that countless times on stage and we know that they'll be able to overcome this because they have our support, they have each other."
As far as the investigation goes, detectives say that they were able to collect some blood and fingerprints from inside of the suspect's vehicle which have been submitted to the Orange County crime lab for results.