Officials today released the name of a 13-year-old girl who was killed in a high-speed crash in Norwalk that also claimed the life of her mother. The girl was identified as Ashley Alvarez of Norwalk, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. Her mother's name will be released pending notification of next of kin.
A woman arrested in connection with the crash was released from jail on Tuesday after prosecutors asked for further investigation into the collision. ``We asked law enforcement for further investigation before making a filing decision,'' Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.
Brittany Lopez, 26, was arrested on Jan. 2 by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and had remained behind bars since then until her release at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, jail records show. The crash was reported at about 10:40 a.m. on Jan. 2 at the intersection of Foster and Studebaker roads, according to Lt. Brian Sanford of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk station.
The lieutenant said a vehicle driven at a high rate of speed by a woman suspected of DUI -- later identified by the sheriff's department as Lopez -- T-boned the vehicle with the woman and Alvarez inside. They were taken by paramedics to St. Francis Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. A third vehicle was also damaged in the crash, Sanford said. That driver was treated at a hospital and released. A dog was also injured in the crash.