Last Updated on August 16, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A suspected street-racing crash in Riverside killed a 17-year-old Perris girl and seriously injured her 17-year-old passenger on Sunday night, Aug. 15, Riverside police said.
The driver of a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro who engaged the 17-year-olds in the race was being sought Monday by police who said the Camaro driver briefly stopped before fleeing.
No description of the driver, or additional details on the Camaro, were available Monday.
The girl who died was Gabriela Martinez, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office said.
Detectives have not been able to locate any surveillance camera footage despite the presence of several businesses in the area of the crash on Magnolia Avenue, one of the busiest streets in the city, said Officer Javier Cabrera, a department spokesman.
“It’s horrible, the fact that now we have a 17-year-old girl who lost her life in a speed contest,” Cabrera said. “The amount of lives this affects — the families, the victims. It’s tragic all the way around.”
The 17-year-olds had left the nearby Castle Park amusement park shortly before the crash, according to friends who stopped by the police station at midday Monday seeking information.
They said the girl who died had recently graduated from high school in Perris.
The crash happened about 10:45 p.m. in front of the Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center near Jones Street.
The preliminary results from the investigation determined that a 2003 Ford Mustang was racing the Camaro west on Magnolia when the Camaro cut off the Mustang, police said, causing the driver of the Mustang to lose control.
The Mustang went off of the road and crashed into a palm tree, Cabrera said.
Several feet of tire impressions left in the soil showed the car went straight into the tree.
Cabrera had a message for young drivers:
“You are now driving a vehicle, you’re in charge of the vehicle, you need to make the right decisions, the right choices,” he said. “Do not let (anybody else) determine what you do.”
Police ask anyone with information on the crash to contact Detective George Anderson at 951-826-8723 or at ganders@riversideca.gov.
A GoFundMe page was established to raise money for the Martinez family’s funeral expenses.
