Teen Girl Killed in Crash Mourned

Initial reports indicated the victim had been "car surfing," but police have not confirmed witness accounts

Clutching flowers, their eyes rimmed red with tears, friends on Tuesday mourned the loss of a 15-year-old girl killed in a mysterious crash in Tarzana.

Friends gathered at the southernmost end of Reseda Boulevard, where the girl, identified by friends as Tsofia Mesica, was killed Monday night in a crash involving an SUV, the cause of which police are investigating.

"She was always happy," said Daniella Dahan, a friend. "She had a boyfriend. Everything was good for her."

Said friend Natalie Fadel: "I'm crushed that I lost her. But she's in a better place."

Police were interviewing up to 15 witnesses.

Early reports indicated that Tsofia was holding on to a white sport-utility vehicle driven by a 16-year-old friend. Suddenly, for reasons that are not clear, the car accelerated. She fell on the pavement, hitting her head, said Detective Bill Bustos, of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Some call it "car surfing," an extremely dangerous stunt that often generates viral videos.

But others said Tsofia and the young driver, who recently got his license, would never take such risks.

"I miss her and we all loved her," said Sean Ashkenazi, who knew her from Taft High School. "We wish this never happened."

Toni Guinyard, Oleevia Woo and Corey Arvin contributed to this report.

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