An 11-year-old girl was killed early Wednesday morning in a crash with a driver who fled the scene of an earlier collision going the wrong way on a freeway east of Los Angeles.
Angelique Zarate, 11, died in the 4 a.m. collision on the 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights. She was identified Thursday by the coroner's office.
Angelique was in a 2015 Toyota Corolla that was westbound on the freeway when it was struck by the wrong-way driver in a Hyundai Sonata. She died at the scene.
In a statement posted to a GoFundMe page, Angelique was described as a "beautiful, happy and adventurous person."
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"(She) had the biggest heart and always showed so much love to everyone around her," the statement continued. "Our beautiful firework baby was loved by all that met her and we are heartbroken that she is no longer here to put smiles on our faces."
The wrong-way driver left the scene of an earlier collision before crashing into the Corolla. The first collision spun the Sonata around, the California Highway Patrol said.
"As a result of this collision, the Hyundai spun out of control and faced wrong way," the CHP said in a statement. "The driver continued traveling eastbound -- wrong-way -- in the westbound lanes of State Route 60 at a high rate of speed."
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The Sonata driver subsequently crashed into several vehicles traveling east in westbound lanes near Crossroads Parkway, the CHP said. The driver left that scene on foot, the CHP said.
The driver of the Corolla suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital, the CHP reported. A big rig driver suffered a minor injury.
No arrests were reported Thursday.
Anyone with information about the wrong-way crash was urged to call the CHP Santa Fe Springs-area office at 562-868-0503.
