9-year-old girl killed in Concord freeway crash identified; driver arrested
Authorities on Wednesday arrested the driver who fled the scene of a solo car crash on a Concord highway that killed a 9-year-old girl and injured four other passengers over the weekend.
The 22-year-old man faces charges including manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and child abuse, according to media reports. His bail was set at $200,000.
On Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office identified a 9-year-old girl who died in the crash early Sunday morning.
Danna Hernandez Tapia, a resident of Oregon, was killed when the vehicle in which she traveled along with five other people left the roadway just before 5:15 a.m. at the Interstate Highway 680/state Highway 242 split in Concord and rolled over several times. The driver fled the scene.
Four other females inside the vehicle were transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with major injuries.
The gray Mazda CX-9 was traveling north when it traveled through the dirt median separating the two freeways and overturned several times, landing on its roof.
The child was pronounced dead at the scene. The California Highway Patrol said "several" occupants in the vehicle weren't wearing seatbelts.
The driver who was arrested fled the scene before first responders arrived. His relationship to the passengers in the vehicle wasn't known Wednesday.
The CHP said anyone with information about the crash, or the whereabouts of the male driver, can call their Contra Costa-area office at (925) 646-4980 or email contact information to 320investigations@chp.ca.gov to be contacted by the investigating officer.
