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UPDATED: Lancaster toddler killed by driver fleeing police

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A 45-year-old man driving this black Toyota ran a red light while fleeing deputies Thursday evening and slammed into blue Lexus, killing a two-year-old girl and critically injuring the girl’s mother. (Photo by NOE VILLEGAS)

LANCASTER – A two-year-old girl is dead and her mother is clinging to life after the vehicle they were riding in collided with a reckless driver fleeing police, authorities said.

The fatal collision happened around 4:56 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 6) in the intersection of 10th Street West and Avenue I in Lancaster, according to Lancaster Station Traffic Sergeant Paul Pfrehm.

The man surrendered after the crash. (Photo by NOE VILLEGAS)

A 37-year-old Lancaster woman was driving a blue Lexus northbound on 10th Street West , when a 45-year-old Palmdale man driving a black Toyota westbound on Avenue I ran a red light and slammed into the woman’s vehicle, Pfrehm said.

The man had been fleeing deputies at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour at the time of the collision, Pfrehm said.

He said the brief pursuit began when deputies attempted to stop the man after they spotted him driving recklessly and running a red light on Sierra Highway and Avenue J.

The suspect was arrested for felony vehicular manslaughter. (Photo by NOE VILLEGAS)

“They did not try to pursue at the time because their vehicle didn’t have overhead lights,” Pfrehm said. “They put it out on the radio that there was a vehicle northbound on Sierra at a high rate of speed, and another unit saw him and got in behind him at about Sierra and [Avenue] I.”

Pfrehm said the man was running numerous red lights during the pursuit, which continued westbound on Avenue I.

“The deputies were a considerable distance behind the vehicle when he ran the red light and struck the vehicle in the intersection,” Pfrehm said.

It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the incident. (Photo by NOE VILLEGAS)

The woman and her daughter suffered massive trauma to the upper body, and were transported to the hospital by ambulance, where the child succumbed to her injuries, Pfrehm said.

The suspect was surrounded by several deputies with guns drawn and a sheriff’s helicopter overhead. He raised his hands out the vehicle in apparent surrender and was handcuffed on the ground by deputies.

The suspect was arrested for felony vehicular manslaughter and transported to the hospital in serious condition, Pfrehm said.

The intersection at 10th Street West and Avenue I was blocked for hours because of the incident. (Photo by NOE VILLEGAS)

“If you kill somebody while trying to evade a law enforcement officer in pursuit of you, it’s going to be a vehicular manslaughter charge,” Pfrehm said.

Pfrehm said the police pursuit lasted less than a minute.

“It was a very short duration pursuit and the sheriff’s vehicle was never close to the suspect’s vehicle,” Pfrehm said. “He was a considerable distance in front of us.”

It is unknown at this time if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the collision.  The suspect’s name and the names of the victims have not been released.

Sheriff’s Detectives continue to investigate this fatal collision, and ask if anyone has information regarding this incident, to contact the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station Traffic Enforcement Team at 661-948-8466

UPDATED 12/7/12 at 12 pm: The suspect has been identified as Marvin Hicks of Palmdale. He was released from the hospital last night and is currently in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.

The two-year-old girl who passed away has been identified as Madison Ruano.

Loved ones have created a facebook page to honor Maddie’s memory here.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

91 comments for "UPDATED: Lancaster toddler killed by driver fleeing police"

  2. Is there any truth to the rumor that the mom was cited for not having the baby properly secured in the car seat?

  3. So sad….and so are most of the comments…I read them and understand the rage…Go ahead AV…get it out your system…

    • This man has been out of control for awhile. His past illegal activity in November of 2011, should have had him locked away for at least 5 years. He found a gullible public defender and manipulated him and the system. One of the witnesses to one of his crimes recanted her testimony claiming to be afraid of Hicks. What was there to be afraid of? If he’d been held accountable for that crime he wouldn’t have been out to cause this horrible crime which has taken a precious life and affected lives of many with whom are mourning. Shame on that one witness to the 11/30/11 crime! That babies blood is on your hands too!

  5. i FEEL THE FAMILY AND I I AM PRAYING ALOT FOR THEM. HOPEFULY THEY GIVE HIM LIFE TIME IN JAIL AND NEVER LET HIM GO. THIS LITTLE GIRL DID DONT DISERVED TO DIE LIKE THAT SHE STILL HAD A LONG LIFE TO GO SHE WAS ONLY TO.. POOR OF THE MOTHER THAT IS IN THE HOSPITAL INJUR BUT HE WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING HE TOOK THE LIFE OF A LITTLEGIRL. MY PRAYERS ARE FOR THIS FAMILY AND FOR THE BABY GIRL SHE WAS SO INNOCENT OF EVERYTHING. :(

  6. that ass hole needs to see what he did poor little girl didn’t make it for christmas well he in jail now

  7. The Hick’s clan has had a rather infamous reputation in the AV from way back into the 1960’s.

  8. I WAS THERE LAST NIGHT AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE!!! REALLY REALLY SCARY!!! WE HAVE AN INNOCENT LITTLE GURL GONE!!!! SO SAD SHE WHEN OUT THIS WAY!!! AS FOR THE DRIVER!!! DONT HAVE ANY SYMPATHY FOR YOU. YOU CAN GO TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE!!! ONLY THING THAT WORRIES ME KNOW IS THAT THIS SUCKA IS GOING TO CRY TO THE JUDGE AN SAY ” YO ARNER,, IT WASN’T ME!!! IT WAS THE POLICE WHO MADE ME CRASHH!!! IM THE VICTIM HERE!!!! ” JUDGE GIVES HIM 3 MONTHS IN JAIL THEN HE COMES OUT DOING THE SAME THING ALLL OVERRR 

  9. “The driver has been identified as 45-year-old Marvin Hicks, of Palmdale. He was also hospitalized, but his injuries were not serious.” -This was from KTLA.com

    • I was there when he collided the Sheriff could have shot him as he was disobeying orders but there were to many idiots standing in the gas station to stupid to realize the situation and see that deputy’s had their guns drawn on the suspect. People are just ignorant. I pray for the family of the victims and I hope the suspect does the right thing and take his own life save tax payers some money.

  10. man so sad that the family lost there lil baby and god please protect the mother and help her heal her injuries and help her and give her courage to go on! now god bless the man who was responsible for this tragic accident, who knows what that man was going through at the time rather it was drugs or alcohol , who knows maybe he just lost his friggin mind and was goin through some [removed] in this [removed] up life most of us have and wasnt thinking clearly! accidents do happen and sadly he has to suffer the consequences for his actions who are any of you to judge thank you

      • Just searching THIS site produces this:

        Palmdale Arrests Monday 10/1/2012

        Marvin Travon Hicks, 45, Male, Black of Palmdale
        1:42 p.m., 10-1-2012
        245(A)(1)/PC/F FORCE/ADW NOT FIREARM:GBI
        Palmdale Blvd 35th St E Palmdale

        For those watching at home this is an assault with a deadly weapon other than a gun with Great Bodily Injury.

        Probably the minimum he was charged with last night also.

        • AND this:

          Marvin T Hicks, 48, Male, Black of Palmdale
          6:15 p.m., 10-30-2012
          459/PC/F BURGLARY
          Ave K, Division Street Lancaster

          Arrested for serious crimes twice in the A.V. in October alone. Why was this guy still out? This whole tragic situation would have been completely prevented if this piece of human excrement was locked up where he belongs.

    • You are so IGNORANT !! To bad the reckless driver who has an extensive rap sheet isn’t the one who passed, instead of an innocent child. This guy was a LOSER. People deal with problems everyday and don’t choose to drive erratically, and from his track record this guy is a menace to society and needs to be put away. Unfortunately we the working public will have to support him in prison and he gets a roof over his head and hot meals. The family of the little girl have to suffer.

  12. IM TRYING TO THINK HOW WE CAN PREVENT ALL THESE PROBLEMS OUT HERE IN THE AV.

    FOR CRIMES, SPEEDING, DRUGS, AND ANYTHING ELSE.

    I KNOW PEOPLE THAT DIDN’T DO DRUGS UNTIL THEY CAME UP HERE.

    • PLEASE – He had a history of DUI, give me a break.That’s one of the stupidest things I have read on here “you know people who didn’t do drugs until they came up here.”By all means then,go back where you came from.It must be the desert air.

    • “IM TRYING TO THINK HOW WE CAN PREVENT ALL THESE PROBLEMS OUT HERE IN THE AV. FOR CRIMES, SPEEDING, DRUGS, AND ANYTHING ELSE.” – Great question.

      “I KNOW PEOPLE THAT DIDN’T DO DRUGS UNTIL THEY CAME UP HERE.” – Irrelevant.

  13. Too bad we can’t take this a$$h0l3 and push him off of the overpass on one Southern California’s busiest freeways during rush hour!

  14. To call this even a “brief pursuit” would be a stretch at best.
    I was one of the -probably- many people who contacted the station to report a reckless driver heading north on Sierra Hwy. Before a single deputy was around and as far back as Ave K this guy was traveling well over 100 MPH and using the middle median to pass vehicles. By the time he got to Ave J there was a deputy heading west and saw him run the light, but because of a random ambulance and fire truck traveling west, stayed at the intersection until they were through, then turned to follow the Solara with lights. By the time the solara was by the Lancaster station deputies were just pulling out with lights and sirens, but he was around the corner and on to Ave I before any deputy’s vehicles could catch up. At this point I was down the BLVD on the way to my store, but there is no doubt that the accident had already happened and it was no fault of the deputies or anyone else except the driver of that black convertible Solara.
    This is so tragic and I feel for the family. This is especially hard for me as I almost lost my wife last year this month from a vehicle accident.

    I wish only the best for the injured family.

    • Thanks for an accurate report. I’m sure there will be those (no matter the facts) that will still blame the cops. Sounds like they did a good job.

      • hood rats always blame the cops! It’s their way of passing off their own shortcomings and stupidity onto someone else!

  15. ANOTHER senseless murder! What the heck happened to the A.V.? Did someone open the flood gates and tell all the scumbags, lowlifes and ex-felons to come? SMH

    • What happened to the AV? What was once a great valley to live in is getting poisened by Section 8 and a prison with a whole bunch of parolees on the loose.

          • Right Matt, doesn’t matter if it’s beer or bath salts, someone decides to ingest it( in most cases) and then get behind the wheel.

        • No there are new designer drugs that can cause extremely violent reactions that are much worse than the infamous P.C.P.
          Bath Salts based in synthetic cathinones is a popular drug that makes people do everything from act crazy to eat peoples faces off. Because it’s so new it’s not fully recognized by laws and often pitched as legal and sold in head shops.

          • So let me see, do they think it’s a nutritional supplement or have they not heard from their peers that they can get off on it, or maybe they thought they would put it in a bath.
            What does the term “head “shop imply?

    • EXACTLY, his name was Mayor Hearns, he’s the one that opened our valley up to all the section 8 housing and releasing the criminal into the antelope valley. THANKS AGAIN MAYOR HEARNS. thank god he’s not in office anymore.

      • I wonder if he owns some Section 8 houses. Same with many other big shots in the Valley. The AV Press should ask around.

    • Mayor Herns did when he gave out all the section 8 to the Jordon downs Renters when that housing project was torn down!

      • Yes, I’ve heard rumors that Hearns sent buses…yes buses down there to bring them up here! Also, I believe ever since Metrolink started service from here to L.A. that that too is the reason we have more undesirables.

  17. Hate to see this happen t a family. A family will never be the same now because of another AV POS.

  19. Seriously, just the other night I had to drive through central Palmdale after dark, and near the Jack in the Box on Palmdale Blvd at 6th St East where the right-hand lane becomes a turn-only lane, I saw a car blatantly blast through the end of the turn-only lane, bop across the tracks in the “extra” space, and cut back into the next lane over (now the right-hand lane) up at the light at Sierra Hwy. Not the same level of risk/danger, BUT… a reminder that people in the ghetto really drive way worse overall, with blatant disregard for traffic laws just as much as any other laws — whether they’re running from police or that’s just the way they always drive! I try to avoid driving in the ghetto parts of town (and by town, I don’t distinguish between Lancaster or Palmdale) after dark especially!!! 4:56 is dusk this time of year, not that that would’ve helped the poor victims by having more daylight, that they could’ve seen him coming.

    • We have had horrendous accidents here for many years, many out in the boonies,many by rednecks who were drunk so this particular problem knows no color. You have to watch yourself no matter where you are.
      This is the saddest story here in a long time, a reminder that life can be taken any second.
      Too bad the suspect survived, would have saved us the cost of his room and board and legal defends.
      Hope we can band together as a community to help this family.

      • I drove by I on my way to work last night and saw all the chaos…wasnt sure what happen untill i got home n saw the news :-(its devastating i cant even imagine what the mom is going through. I had told my husband im so glad we have a car to drive because i thought the mom was walking with her daughter, but now that i know what really happen…i pray to God to give that family strength and that the community lends a hand. This morning i drove by it again and it broke my heart seeing the memorial for that lil baby girl..it put me in tears because i have a 2 yr old baby girl aswell and its sooo scary thinking that even if ur in the car and properly in her baby seat…anything can happen. n yes the av is getting worst. May God be with them and all of us. Please keep that family in your prayers.

  20. Rip to Tina and baby Madison u will be missed I love u guys lots of prayers to the family’s and the amazing husband and father to them!!

    • @ dancer did mother pass away..

      This is so horriable.. Breaks my heart.. The innocent diewhile the low life scums get to see tomorrow..

        • I just saw that aslo.. They say is expected to make it.. I just read a comment on topis from stupid ahole.. Unbelivabe.. Said something about sheriffs getting a taste of there own medicine about little girl dying.. Im so raged at his comment.

    • Hi, My young daughter and I were there, as the driver sped past our car he collided instantly with the victims,(within a few seconds time) I pulled over to try and calm down and to make a statement, if needed. Today I am just so grateful am sitting here. Yet, I feel terrible for everyone involved last evening, just So VeRy SORRY about the families involved, and even the officers placed within in this tragedy, who at first i was sadly cursing. Really, no one wins in these sad situations. God Bless all involved ~*~

    • I agree — this SHOULD be a murder charge! When a person makes the choice to evade law enforcement and use a vehicle as their means of escape, KNOWING that they are endangering others — drivers as well as pedestrians who might be on the sidewalks and in crosswalks — it should be considered PRE MEDITATED murder! This intersection is a “family” intersection — lots of little houses, little restaurants, clothing shops, Dollar Tree — it attracts people to that spot. This is so painfully outrageous!

  22. This man should get the Death Penalty for Vehicular homicide. That or when he gets out on parole… more people will die.

    • Once they prove that alcohol was involved, the charge will change from vehicular manslaughter to murder with a minimum sentence of 25 years. The laws changed in 2008. Unfortunately its the rest of us productive, law abiding citizens that will have to foot the bill for this idiot.

      • @Erika

        You’re probably right, but with early release and other nonsense this piece of human excrement will be out of jail in 7 to 10 years.

  23. My prayers go out to the family of the little girl. Dad hang in there and just pray. You might think praying is not going to bring her back but, in times like this God is always there and I know your baby is looking down at you from heaven.

    • To mention the name of the suspect is giving him fame for this atrocious act of selfishness he doesn’t deserve the fame ….And Justice for All!

      • What Fame is there from murdering a 2 year old in cold blood?

        I pray for strength for the father to fullfil his duty to slaughter this trash and send a message as an eye for an eye

      • I agree AND disagree. Some thugs WANT the press — their 15 minutes of fame, no matter that it isn’t fame, it’s infamy. They don’t want to be remembered for their notariety, but their notorius crimes. To withold his name is to strip him of his “creds”, his “props”. Yet, to name him, is to make others aware of his shame — to remember his face, his name, with disgust. So….it’s one of those situations where it all boils down to this: He is alive. A mother and baby spilled their blood for his trying to save his own skin. I don’t care if he gets rehabbed in the joint — Tina and Madison don’t get to rehabilitate, do they???

      • We don’t always understand the ways of the Lord, and frankly that’s because we simply aren’t God and don’t see the whole picture. Our existence on this earth is only a snippet of eternity, and I have no doubt that little Madison is now in the arms of the Lord in a place made of only beauty and joy and love. A terrible tragedy indeed, but its times like these that we should turn to the Lord not away from Him. We all have a choice in this life as to what we pursue, who we influence, and where we will spend an eternity. I will be praying for His peace with this family as I can only imagine the horrible sense of loss they are experiencing.

  25. Should have shot the sorry SOB dead on the spot. Why waste a Milion $$$ trying such trash caught in the Act? May you Burn in Hell and your family with you!

  26. Horrible death for a young 2 year old that did not deserve to die. Poor mother is hanging on; she was probably on her way home from a hard day at work with her baby. The driver was out and about drinking and driving with no regard for the safety of human life. Why did he flea from the police?