A teenage girl was fatally struck by a car as she tried to coax a distraught friend off a Sacramento freeway, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday on the Capital City Freeway (Interstate 80 business loop) near Watt Avenue.
CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the video on a mobile device
The first girl to enter the eastbound traffic lanes had reportedly fled the nearby Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home, a group home and shelter for young people, CHP officer Greg Zumstein told the Sacramento Bee.
That girl was pursued by a friend who also lived at the home. The second girl was struck by an SUV in the eastbound fast lane.
As CHP officers arrived at the scene, eight to 10 people had gathered in the median, apparently staff members and other youths from the receiving home. An ambulance was requested for a psychiatric hold for one uninjured juvenile, the CHP log says.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver remained on the scene and cooperated with officers. Drug or alcohol use was not suspected, the CHP said.
The freeway’s three eastbound lanes were reopened by midnight.
