Authorities identified the girl who died after being hit by a vehicle while walking on Vineyard Avenue near Oxnard on July 18.
Maya Diaz Morales,15, was from Oxnard, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. She died of multiple blunt-force injuries, and her death was ruled an accident.
Diaz Morales died at a local hospital from injuries she sustained after being struck by an SUV while crossing Vineyard Avenue near Central Avenue around 7:49 a.m., authorities previously said.
The intersection is near Rio Mesa High School in the unincorporated Strickland area.
California Highway Patrol investigators believe she was crossing Vineyard "against the traffic signal" when she was struck by an SUV.
Emergency personnel, including the Oxnard
Fire Department, arrived at the scene of the crash and found a pedestrian suffering from critical injuries. A firefighter traveled with the injured girl to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, fire officials said.
Mario Diaz introduced himself as the girl’s father in a GoFundMe page he set up to help with funeral expenses and to transport her body to Mexico.
“Unfortunately, my daughter passed away upon arriving at the hospital, and we were not informed until later, so we were unable to say goodbye to her,” Diaz said on the fundraiser’s page.
As of July 30, the page had raised $26,745 of its $28,000 goal.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 15-year-old ID'd as pedestrian who died after crash outside Oxnard
