A one-year-old orphan is fighting for her life in the hospital after her entire family was killed in a brutal New Year's Eve accident in South Los Angeles.
Just 40 minutes before the New Year, Hanna Sofia Cortes Bernal, her mother, father and five-year-old sister were hit by a speeding driver who blew past a stop sign while fleeing a collision.
He crashed into the family's sedan so hard that it crashed through a street sign and a fence before bursting into flames.
Among the dead were 49-year-old Jose Manuel Pasgagasa, 26-year-old Luisa Bernal and their five-year-old daughter Mia Pasgagasa.
Jose died at the scene after being trapped in the vehicle. Luisa and Mia were both pronounced dead in hospital later that evening.
Hanna Sofia Cortes Bernal – pictured second from left in a white romper – is the only surviving member of her family of four after a horrific car accident on New Year's Eve
The only survivor of the sedan is almost two-year-old Hanna, who is still in pediatric intensive care.
Ryan Moreno, an LAPD detective, said at a news briefing that the toddler was not originally expected to survive, but has miraculously shown signs of recovery in the days after the crash.
The family moved to Southern California from Colombia a little more than a year ago, hoping to find a better life.
According to a GoFundMe founded by a daughter of Jose who remains in Colombia, the family crossed the border into the United States on November 13, 2022.
She says she is now trying to raise money to bring her family's bodies back to Colombia.
A candlelight vigil was set up Tuesday by members of the Los Angeles community, some of whom heard the crash and ran to help.
Eyewitnesses said the impact of the white SUV – a Chevy Tahoe – slamming into the sedan sounded like an explosion.
The driver of the SUV, 22-year-old Jordan Kahari, remains in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to Moreno, he faces several possible murder charges, and if Hanna survives, attempted murder.
Law enforcement officials are still waiting on a toxicology report, but they believe Kahari was driving under the influence the night of the crash. He was fleeing an earlier collision when he crashed into the family and killed them, police believe.
The Tahoe's impact was so powerful that the family sedan crashed through a stop sign and a fence
LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno says the suspect will likely be charged with murder
The destroyed family car is being treated by the emergency services
Scattered debris and bloodstains at the site of the fatal crash
The Los Angeles Fire Department responds to the scene of a crash that was so loud that neighbors thought it was an explosion
The White Chevy Tahoe driven by the suspect in the aftermath of the crash
Neighbors, including Amilcar Lopez, told ABC7 they rushed when they realized a significant crash had occurred.
“As soon as I saw the little kids in bad condition, with blood everywhere, I couldn't hold it back anymore and I just started crying,” Lopez said.
Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham told reporters that four fatal crashes occurred this long weekend.
“We have just completed the holidays, which should be a time of celebration and renewal for all our communities,” he said.
“And yet this weekend we had four (fatal accidents) that resulted in the loss of six lives in the city of Los Angeles due to traffic accidents. Last year, almost as many people will die in traffic accidents as in violent murders.”
