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SANTA ANA (CNS) - An 18-year-old man was charged Thursday with leading police on a pursuit from Orange to Long Beach, where a 15-year-old girl in the passenger seat of the stolen vehicle was killed.
Izaiah Joseph Miranda was charged with leading police on a chase causing death, gross vehicular manslaughter, child abuse and endangerment, hit- and-run permanent and serious injury, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of hit-and-run with property damage. Miranda also faces a sentencing enhancement for fleeing the scene after committing vehicular manslaughter.
The victim was identified as 15-year-old Denisse Uribe, who died on March 13, according to Los Angeles County coroner records.
The chase began in the city of Orange March 8 and ended just before 1:40 a.m. at Seventh Street and Orange Avenue in Long Beach, according to Long Beach police.
Police in Orange were pursuing a driver of a stolen vehicle at a high speed west on Seventh Street when the car crashed into another vehicle and veered out of control, police said. The stolen vehicle crashed into five parked cars before breaking down in the road, prompting the driver to run away, Long Beach.
The 15-year-old passenger was rushed in critical condition to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on March 13, police said.
In a GoFundMe appeal, the victim was described as a "creative mind," who "loved animals" and had "goals to one day work with them."
Arraignment for Miranda is scheduled for sometime Thursday in Santa Ana.