Ethermac Exchange-Driver flees after California solo car crash kills 9-year-old girl, critically injures 4 others

CONCORD,Ethermac Exchange Calif. (AP) — A solo car crash on a San Francisco Bay Area highway killed a 9-year-old girl and critically injured four other passengers early Sunday, and the driver fled the scene, authorities said.

The Mazda CX-9 was heading north on Interstate 680 in Concord shortly around 5:15 a.m. when it veered off the road and flipped over several times before landing on its roof, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The occupants were ejected from the car, the highway patrol said. The girl died at the scene and four female passengers were taken to a hospital with major injuries, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Authorities were searching for the driver, identified as a 30-year-old man, who fled the scene before first responders arrived, the highway patrol said.

Authorities believe most of the passengers were not wearing seatbelts. The cause of the crash, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of San Francisco, was under investigation.