A true Halloween nightmare occurred on Friday in Santa Ana as three 13-year-old girls were killed by a hit-and-run driver while trick or treating. Two of the slain girls were twins.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the three girls were struck about 6:45 p.m. by a driver “going at a high rate of speed,” while they were in a crosswalk directly in front of Fairhaven Elementary School.
Anthony Bertagna, a spokesman for the Santa Ana police, said that the third girl was a friend of the twin sisters, all of the girls lived in the area, and that the families were notified and were at the scene. Some 200 people, many of whom were dressed in Halloween costumes, gathered at the scene comforting one another as they watched the police activity.
The police reported that a Honda SUV, which was found behind a Big Lots store near the crime scene, is believed to be the suspect’s vehicle.
According to police, witnesses chased the SUV after it ran over the three girls, but the suspects left the vehicle and escaped on foot. Bertagna said, “It has damage to the front of it and evidence inside it.” According to a witness, two men were in the car at the time of the incident and are still being sought by police.
Sharon Stewart, a local hairstylist, heard “a terrible crash. A couple of thumps. Then I heard screaming. I turned and I saw a car leaving and people yelling. So I thought, ‘It’s a hit-and-run.'” Stewart got in her car, followed, and observed a young man run from the scene. She heard him yelling at what she thought was his companion. “I only saw one guy but I know there was somebody else,” she said.
Breitbart News will continue to follow this developing story.
Meanwhile, Fox News reported that, also on Friday night, authorities in Washington state said two 7-year-old girls and a 20-year-old woman sustained life-threatening injuries when they were hit by a car while trick-or-treating in Vancouver.