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3 teen girls killed in Santa Ana hit-and-run
The scene of a Santa Ana hit-and-run that killed three teenage girls on Halloween, as seen in an NBC L.A. screenshot.
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NBC L.A.
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Three 13-year-old girls were killed on the evening of Halloween in a hit-and-run in Santa Ana.
Santa Ana Police responded to the call at 6:45, says Santa Ana Police spokesman Anthony Bertagna. The suspects' vehicle was driving down Fairhaven, a busy Santa Ana street, at high speed.
"[The car] struck all three of the females, and fled the scene without even stopping," Bertagna said.
All three victims died at the scene, according to Bertagna. Two of the girls were twin sisters, and the third girl was their friend; they attended middle school together and were close friends. They had been in a crosswalk in front of an elementary school that was in a residential neighborhood.
There were many witnesses with people out for Halloween, according to Bertagna, and people had spotted the suspects' vehicle and were able to lead them to the vehicle in a nearby strip mall. The two suspects had fled the vehicle and remain at large, while the vehicle is in police possession.
"We spent most of the night trying to locate the parents of the three victims," Bertagna said. He added that police chaplains were helping those families.
Police are trying to figure out who owns the vehicle and if they were driving it or gave the vehicle to someone else, Bertagna said. They're also looking for tips on if the suspects got into another vehicle, called someone to pick them up or ran inside another location.
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Evidence was found both inside and outside the car, Bertagna said, but would not disclose what was inside due to it being an open investigation. The car was damaged in the hit-and-run.
A father trick-or-treating with his son was also killed by a car on Halloween night in Irvine. The boy remained in critical but stable condition Saturday morning.
This story has been updated.
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