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Car briefly carried girl on hood, then kept going
| Wednesday, Mar 12 2008 1:11 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Mar 12 2008 1:11 PM
Editor's note: This story was originally published May 5, 2007.
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Kern County sheriff's Sgt. Matt Lee wishes he could freeze the video and pluck the child crossing the street out of harm's way.
He's watched the footage of 5-year-old Erica Paulina Guerra getting struck by the car numerous times, and it's taken a toll on him. He said he and emergency responders are pretty shook up by the hit-and-run that killed Guerra at a Wasco intersection Thursday evening.
"She's just a 5-year-old girl," Lee said, wiping away tears after a news conference Friday morning. "I keep thinking about everything in life she's going to miss out on."
Jeannette Albert, Erica's pre-kindergarten teacher at John L. Prueitt School, described the child as a quiet, shy girl who had moments when her face lit up in a huge smile.
"I personally had a relationship with this little girl," Albert said Friday evening. "I'm going to be very aware of that loss in my classroom."
Surveillance video taken from a Fastrip at the intersection where the hit-and-run occurred shows how the horrifying incident played out.
Erica, her brother and their mother were on F Street crossing Poso Drive at 7 p.m. when Erica stopped, apparently to tie her shoes. The mother and brother continued across the street. Erica looked up, saw them ahead of her and ran to catch up.
A westbound car hit Erica and briefly carried her on its hood before she fell beneath its wheels. Her body landed 80 to 100 feet from where she was first struck, Lee said.
He was at a loss to explain how someone could leave the scene. It had to be obvious to the driver that a person was hit, he said.
"I can't find any rational thought as to why (the driver) didn't stop," Lee said.
Gilberto Lopez was inside the Fastrip when the hit-and-run occurred. When he walked outside, Erica was lying motionless in the street.
She died a short time later at Kern Medical Center, a Kern County coroner's office news release said.
Lee said officials believe the vehicle was a 2000 model gray or silver Ford Taurus with tinted back windows. The car may have some front fender or windshield damage.
Lee hopes the surveillance video will spur someone, maybe even the driver, to come forward.
"Do the right thing, that's all we're asking," Lee said.
Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call sheriff's Detective Bob Venable at 758-7266, ext. 6, or 861-3110 and refer to case number SR07-15211.