Police locate car, identify person of interest in hit-and-run that killed 10-year-old Florida girl
Yaceny Rodriguez-Gonzelez (Ft. Pierce Police Department)
FT. PIERCE, Fla. - Florida police say they have located the car and have identified a person of interest in the hit-and-run crash that killed a 10-year-old girl Thursday morning as she tried to board her school bus.
In a Friday morning social media update, Fort Pierce police said it was around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon when investigators located the vehicle that killed 10-year-old Yaceny Rodriguez-Gonzalez.
The white Chevrolet sedan had visible damage to the right front bumper, headight and the right section of its windshield was smashed. Police towed the car and secured it for further investigation, which revealed a person of interest, who they did not publicly identify.
According to Fort Pierce police, Yaceny was crossing the street around 6:15 a.m. to get to her school bus, which had its flashing lights on and its stop sign extended.
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That's when investigators said the car drove around the bus, hit the young girl, and fled the scene.
According to police, the impact was so severe that it knocked the girl's shoes and backpack off of her.
(Courtesy: Fort Pierce Police Department)
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Yaceny lying unconscious in a grassy area. Paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
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WPTV reports that the victim's mother and younger sibling witnessed the crash. Children were also on the school bus when she was hit by the car, St. Lucie Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Gent said.
Investigators said they are working in conjunction with the Ninteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office on the case.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477 or Fort Pierce Police Traffic Homicide Investigator Shane Stokes at 772-302-4764.