(L.A.) Angelique Zarate, 11, Died on the 60 Freeway

Case Number: 2023-03149

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 11-year-old female of Latin American ethnicity that occurred on a highway.

The coroner’s office has identified the child as Angelique Zarate.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death: Blunt Trauma

RIP ANGELIQUE ZARATE (July 4, 2011 – March 22, 2023)

The decedent was killed in a wrong-way hit-and-run crash on the 60 Freeway near Crossroads Parkway in the City of Industry.

The incident crash happened at around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a Hyundai Sonata was involved in a separate traffic collision on the westbound freeway. As a result of that crash, the Hyundai spun out of control and faced the wrong way.

The driver continued traveling the wrong way at a high rate of speed and collided with multiple vehicles. The driver then fled the scene on foot before officers arrived.

Despite life-saving measures, the 11-year-old girl, who was a passenger in a 2015 Toyota Corolla, succumbed to injuries at the scene.

The driver of the Toyota, 50-year-old Rafael Zarate of Moreno Valley, suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital.

Authorities are still searching for the driver of the Hyundai. The CHP described the suspect as someone in his mid 30s, with fair complexion, medium-length hair parted to the side and as White or Latino.