A woman accused of killing a man while driving drunk has been returned to U.S. soil after she was located in Mexico, police said Tuesday.
According to Los Angeles Police Detective Nicholas Sinclair, the suspect, identified as Maritza Joana Lara, 27, fled the country shortly after becoming involved in a deadly crash that killed one person and left four other injured in North Hills. Lara jumped on a Greyhound bus two hours after getting into the accident back on June 16. The fatal crash occurred after Lara allegedly ran a red light at Parthenia Street and Haskell Ave, ramming into the side of the Nissan truck being driving by 48-year-old Francisco Hernandez Rivas.
“We discovered that she had fled almost immediately after the collision to the downtown Greyhound bus station and obtained a ticket to Calexico,” Sinclair told reporters at a news conference Tuesday morning at the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division.
“From Calexico, we interviewed persons on the bus, and were able to ascertain that she (crossed) over into Mexico ...,” Sinclair said. “We were able to coordinate with the U.S. Marshals (Service) and also with Mexican federal police and with immigration (officials) in Mexico in order to deport her back to the United States.”
Lara was detained by Mexican Federal Police on the street in Chiapas on Aug. 15, before being extradited back to the U.S. for trial on Aug. 17, officials said.
Police released video of the fatal crash, which showed Lara walking away from a white Lexus, while occasionally looking back at the crash site. Rivas died at the scene, police said.
Investigators discovered empty beer cans inside the Lexus authorities say Lara was driving. Lara has a previous DUI conviction, officials said.