Escondido CA— On February 12, 2021, a white Ford Explorer driven by a 13 year-old girl, from Vista, and her juvenile companion fled from the police after a traffic stop. The girl lost control of her vehicle while making a left turn from eastbound Mission Ave to northbound Ash St. The Explorer slid into the bushes killing two men who were sleeping next to a block wall. The driver was quickly detained by officers after running away from the scene. The two men who died in the collision were identified as Mateo Salvador (33) and Sofio Sotelo Torres (51).
Since the tragic event took place, traffic investigators have been working diligently to locate and process evidence, finalize statements from involved parties and witnesses, and attempt to re-create the circumstances surrounding the crash. During this time, the investigators have been in communication with the Juvenile Branch of the San Diego County District Attorney’s office on the filing of all possible charges. Investigators prepared an affidavit for an arrest warrant for the 13-year-old driver and the warrant was issued by the court.
Today, March 25, 2021, Escondido Police investigators took the driver into custody on the arrest warrant. She was later booked into Juvenile Hall on 2 counts of PC 192(c)(1) Vehicular Manslaughter, and 1 count each of CVC 2800.3 Evading Police Causing Injury or Death, CVC 20001(a) Felony Hit and Run, and CVC 20001(b)(2) Hit and Run Causing Death or Serious Injury. State law protects the identity of juvenile offenders and her name is not being released by the Escondido Police Department.
Anyone with information regarding crash is encouraged to contact Officer Adan Martinez at 760-839-4465 or via our tip line listed below.
You can follow the police department via Facebook at www.facebook.com/EscondidoPolice and Twitter and Instagram (@EscondidoPolice).
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