A pedestrian turned up dead earlier this week after a vehicle, allegedly involved in a street race through West Long Beach, California, fatally struck her. The incident took place on Monday evening, May 11.

Officers responded to the crash at about 6:45 p.m. in the area of Santa Fe Avenue and Hill Street on multiple calls of a traffic wreck involving three vehicles and a pedestrian. Police said one of two cars traveling at a high rate of speed through the roadway ran over the victim.

Preliminary reports showed that the mishap began when a Lexus IS200 sedan racing alongside a Nissan sports car smashed into a Honda Odyssey minivan. Police said the vehicles were speeding southbound on Santa Fe when they encountered the eastbound Honda at the road’s intersection with Hill Street.

The impact of the collision sent the Lexus spiralling out of control into a crosswalk where it struck a pedestrian. Emergency responders pronounced the victim dead at the scene. Authorities identified the female victim as Josephine Espiritu, 59, of Long Beach.

Meanwhile, the motorists operating the Lexus and the minivan both suffered injuries and medics transported them to a hospital. Officers said the minivan’s driver received treatment for minor injuries and was then released, while the Lexus driver remains in critical, but stable condition.

Police are yet to present a case against the Lexus operator at the District Attorney’s office. Once they do, the DA would consider filing charges. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to have contributed to the crash that led to Espiritu’s demise.

Officers are on the lookout for the other car involved in the race, and its operator. The accident reports described the vehicle as a black Nissan 350Z sporting a slatted window covering on the rear. Detectives urged anyone with information to get in touch as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: The Accident News article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.

The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Accident News’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.

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