Woman killed in hit-and-run near El Mirage, driver wanted

Investigators are searching for a driver who fled the scene of a crash that killed a 35-year-old Los Angeles woman near El Mirage Sunday night, officials said.

Maria Franco died in the 10:30 p.m. collision along a dirt road near Avenue J and East 255th Street, in an unincorporated county area south of El Mirage, according to California Highway Patrol officials and Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner records.

She was a passenger in a 1997 Toyota Corolla that was heading south along a dirt road just east of East 255th Street before the crash, the CHP said in a written statement.

“For reasons that are still under investigation,” a 2016 Hyundai Tuscon SUV traveling east on another dirt road collided with the Toyota, according to the release.

The driver of the Hyundai fled the wreck and has not been found. No description of the suspect was available.

Paramedics pronounced Franco dead at the scene, according to CHP and coroner officials. She was not wearing a seat belt.