Arcadia Major Accident Investigation Team Examines possible Cause of Sunday’s Fatal Accident on Duarte that killed a 16 year old Arcadia High School Girl and Seriously injured another
Arcadia Detective Mike Hale Investigates Sunday’s Fatal Accident on Duarte Rd. Monday Night- Photos by Terry Miller
On April 10, 2011 at about 6:40pm, Arcadia Police and Paramedics responded to an injury traffic collision in the 600 block of west Duarte Road. Preliminary investigation revealed that two 16-year-old girls were crossing Duarte Road on foot when they were struck by a vehicle traveling westbound on Duarte Road.
Detective Mike Hale of the Arcadia police dept. said at this point It looks like “speed was probably not a factor” in this accident as he was examining the re-created scenario at exactly 6:43pm on Monday evening.
Detective Hale said the conditions in which the accident took place involve a series of events and conditions which may take a while to fully unfold. He was referring to the location of the setting sun, the visibility factor at the crosswalk at that exact time as well as the driver’s attention. There are many factors involved in any such investigation and it will take some time before all the facts are in place.
Alice Zhang died as a result of injuries sustained in the collision. The other girl was treated and transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the older model Lexus that struck the girls, a 20-year-old Arcadia man , was not arrested.
Cause of the collision is under investigation by the Arcadia Police Department Major Accident Investigation Team
The 600 block of Duarte has a designated crosswalk which is lit by electronic flashing lights in Arcadia.