Two Teens Charged In Deadly Hit & Run Accident
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Two teens have been charged in a deadly hit and run accident over the weekend which claimed the life a Ft. Lauderdale girl.
Sunday afternoon, around 4:30 p.m., Yanelle Lucero, 5, was riding her plastic tricycle near the side of the road in the 100 block of NW 67th Avenue when she was struck by a white GMC van, according to police.
The driver of the van, identified as 19-year old Erik Garcia, reportedly stopped, jumped out of the vehicle and took off on foot.
Police say 19-year old Mario Argumedo, who was in the passenger seat, ran to the girl, picked her up, carried her over to her mother and then drove off in the van.
Lucero's mother Catherine Diaz told CBS4's Joan Murray that she is relieved an arrest has been made.
"It gives me some closure, to know they won't be able to hurt other kids," said Diaz.
The child's mother tried to rush her to the hospital while calling 911 for help. A Ft. Lauderdale Fire Rescue crew met up with her on I-95 near Sunrise Boulevard and rushed the child to Broward General Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
"I was driving like crazy and told her to hold on, then she gasped, and I knew she was gone," Diaz told CBS4 News.
Garcia, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, driving without a valid license and failure to use due care.
Argumedo, a Pompano resident, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, tampering with evidence and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle in his possession.
Catherine Diaz told Murray she has no money to bury her child. Click Here to donate to help the family.
