An early morning crash involving a wrong-way driver on the 60 Freeway in Industry killed a child and injured several other people on Wednesday morning.
The incident, which occurred a few minutes after 4 a.m., started when a 2016 Hyundai Sonata was involved in a separate crash on the freeway near Crossroads Parkway, causing the car to spin out, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Hyundai driver then headed eastbound in the westbound lanes “at a high rate of speed,” ultimately colliding with four other vehicles before the driver fled on foot.
Two semi-trucks suffered moderate damage while the Hyundai and a 2015 Toyota Corolla suffered major damage, the CHP added.
The passenger in the Corolla, an 11-year-old girl, was declared dead at the scene, and the driver of the Corolla, a 50-year-old man from Moreno Valley, was taken to LAC+USC Medical Center with major lacerations to his face.
One semi-truck driver, a 55-year-old man from Pico Rivera, complained of minor pain to his right shoulder, while the other semi-truck driver and a third man who was behind the wheel of a 2020 Kia Rio suffered no injuries.
The crash also closed the westbound freeway for hours. One lane reopened by 7:20 a.m., and all lanes were fully reopened by about 9:15 a.m., Caltrans said.
The Hyundai, with license plate number 8MJU89, was stolen, according to CHP. The driver of that vehicle, described as a white or Hispanic man in his 30s, wearing light-colored clothing, ran barefoot from the scene. As of Wednesday night, he remained at large.
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating the Hyundai driver.
“(He) may have appeared distraught or potentially injured as a result of that collision,” CHP Officer Zachary Salazar said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct which driver remains at large.