Driver arrested in fiery North Hills hit-and-run crash that killed 1, injured 4

Sunday, August 25, 2019
NORTH HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman who allegedly walked away from a deadly crash in which she ran a red light two months ago in North Hills was arrested in Mexico, police said.

Maritza Lara, 27, who has a prior DUI conviction, was taken into custody with help from a U.S. Marshals Task Force and immigration authorities in Mexico.
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Police released dramatic video of the Father's Day crash that showed a woman calmly walking away from the scene at Haskell Avenue and Parthenia Street after killing the driver in the other car and leaving four passengers in critical condition.

The victim in the crash was identified as 48-year-old Francisco Rivas. Rivas' children are now without a father.

"You can imagine how it's Father's Day, their dad is no longer here," LAPD Det. Lisset Fuentes said at the time. "He was just driving on Parthenia, I believe he was on his way to church, so just an innocent person that got killed."

One of the four passengers that the suspect left severely injured in her car was her own sister.
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Detectives found numerous open cans of beer in the crashed Lexus and say alcohol may have been a factor in the wreck. Investigators said speed was a factor in the crash.



Lara has been turned over to local authorities and is expected in court this week.

A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday.

City News Service contributed to this story.
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