Five Teenage Girls Seriously Injured in Weekend Car Wreck in Seal Beach
SEAL BEACH (February 13, 2023) – Five teenage girls were hospitalized over the weekend after sustaining serious injuries related to a horrific multi-car accident in Seal Beach on Saturday night. According to reports from CBS Los Angeles, the accident occurred just before 7:15 p.m. at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street.
The news outlet reported one witness as saying that a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed ran a red light and collided with a grey sedan turning left at the intersection. Authorities from the Seal Beach Police Department believe that the driver of the speeding vehicle, who ran from the scene of the accident before they arrived on the scene, was the same driver described in a 911 call as a reckless driver in the Huntington Beach area.
All five individuals inside the grey sedan were 17 years old. When Orange County Fire Authority crews arrived, the accident victims were already outside the car. They were all rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. By Sunday afternoon, two of the vehicle’s occupants had been released from the hospital, while the other three remained in serious but stable condition.
Police Still Searching for Reckless Driver Who Caused Seal Beach Crash
By Sunday, news outlets had obtained wild surveillance footage that caught the reckless driver speeding through the intersection, barely missing a group of pedestrians, and slamming into the grey sedan. But, according to police, the suspect fled the scene on foot before they arrived, and the search is still ongoing.
The Long Beach Post News reports that the hit-and-run driver’s vehicle came to rest against a bus bench in front of Chase Bank at 801 Pacific Coast Highway. It is believed that the suspect fled into The Hill, a residential neighborhood between Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard.
Immediately after police arrived on the scene Saturday night, they asked area residents to shelter in place as they searched for the suspect. All lanes of the Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street were shut down in either direction for several hours as police conducted their investigation.
The suspected hit-and-run driver is believed to be a Hispanic male between 18 and 20 years old, around 5′ 10″. According to witnesses, he was wearing a maroon shirt at the time of the accident. Anyone with information is urged to call the Seal Beach Police Department immediately. Contact Traffic Investigator Officer James Dowdell at (562) 799-4100 ext. 1627 or email jdowdell@sealbeachca.gov.
