Last Updated on July 5, 2022 by CCAR Staff
An 11-year-old girl died Wednesday from the injuries sustained in a hit-and-run ATV crash that also killed a 12-year-old boy in the Stoddard Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area north of Victorville.
On Saturday, July 2, the CHP received a call at 8:59 p.m. from a bystander who found two unconscious children on Stoddard Wells Road, within the Stoddard Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area, the CHP said in a news release. The 53,000-acre recreation area is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Investigators learned that the children were riding a Tao Tao ATV northeast on Stoddard Wells Road as an orange side-by-side UTV was traveling east on Stoddard Wells Road, east of Central Road. The side-by-side struck the ATV, the CHP said. Side-by-side off-road vehicles are characterized as utility-task vehicles with bucket or bench seating and a steering wheel.
The 12-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP said.
The 11-year-old passenger was taken to an area hospital by paramedics before being airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center. She succumbed to her injuries Wednesday at 8:50 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.
The driver was identified as Jacob Victor Martinez of Moreno Valley and the passenger was identified as Christina Bird of Huntington Beach, the Coroner’s Office said.
Attempts to locate the unknown suspect driver had been unsuccessful, the CHP said.
Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to contact CHP Officer Cesar Ramos at 760-241-1186.
Staff writer Hunter Lee contributed to this story.
