DUI suspected in deadly crash in Lake Los Angeles, 4-year-old girl killed

LAKE LOS ANGELES –  A 4-year-old Palmdale girl was killed when the vehicle she was riding in was struck by a vehicle driven by a suspected drunk driver in Lake Los Angeles Tuesday night, authorities said.

The collision happened around 8:48 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, on Avenue O, just west of 165th Street East, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

George Kokoteev, 61, of Palmdale was driving a 2006 Nissan Xterra eastbound on Avenue O when he “allowed his vehicle to drift into the westbound lane of Avenue O” where it crashed into a Nissan Altima with five people inside, the CHP report states.

A 4-year-old girl in the Nissan Altima was killed in the crash. The vehicle’s four other occupants — driver Tijera Taylor, 26, Kion Phylow, 27, a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl — all from Palmdale, were taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with moderate injuries, according to the CHP report.

The Xterra’s driver (Kokoteev) was arrested and taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with major injuries, according to the CHP report.

“Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in this collision,” the CHP report states.

The collision remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to contact Officer Taggert at the Antelope Valley CHP Office at 661-948-8541.

UPDATE: The deceased has been identified as K’Marie Lawson. The CHP preliminarily listed her age as 5, however, her birth date is March 19, 2015, which would make her 4 years old, according to the coroner’s office. We have revised the story to reflect the correct age for the deceased.

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