17-year-old girl killed, 1 other injured in street racing crash in Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- A teenage girl is dead and another is in the hospital after a street racing crash in Riverside, police say.

The 17-year-old Perris resident behind the wheel of a 2003 Ford Mustang was racing a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Sunday night on Magnolia Avenue near Jones Avenue, according to the Riverside Police Department.

At one point, police say the Camaro appears to have turned in front of the Mustang, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a tree.

The driver of the Camaro stopped, but fled the scene moments later.

The driver of the Mustang and a 17-year-old passenger were both taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where the driver later succumbed to her injuries. The teenage passenger suffered moderate injuries and is expected to survive.

The teenager killed was identified as Gabriela Martinez.

"She was a good girl," said an emotional Kenia Ponce, Martinez's mother. "Yeah, she made mistakes, but she was a good girl."

"I mean they're kids," she said. "Just stop the racing. It's painful."

An eyewitness to the crash told Eyewitness News the two cars had apparently been racing prior to the incident, going in the opposite direction.

"The same two cars, well over 100 miles an hour," said the witness, who did not want to be identified. "This must've been their second lap, going back in the opposite direction. All I heard was a big bang."

He said the other car actually stopped, but the driver never got out to help.

"They stopped, knows the other car crashed, drove by a couple times before police arrived and took off," the witness said.

Police are looking for the driver of the Camaro. Detectives are asking potential witnesses to come forward.

It's unclear if drugs or alcohol may also have been a contributing factor in the incident.