CA Woman Maritza Joana Lara Captured In Mexico Following Deadly Father’s Day Hit-And-Run

NORTH HILLS, CA. (THECOUNT) — Maritza Joana Lara, of Van Nuys, California, has been captured in Mexico after being accused of a hit-and-run crash that left North Hills father of two, Francisco Hernandez Rivas, dead.

Lara, 27, was operating a vehicle during the June 16 crash which killed Rivas, 48, and critically injured Lara’s four passengers, according to the Police Department.

Lara was taken into custody in Mexico after she allegedly fled the scene of a deadly Father’s Day crash in North Hills, Los Angeles police said Sunday. She left the scene and four of her severely injured passengers behind.

She was apprehended in Mexico before the U.S. Marshals arrested her at the Los Angeles International Airport, LAPD said. L.A. County inmate records indicate Lara was booked on Aug. 17, and that she’s being held on $2,230,000 bail, reports KTLA.

The deadly crash occurred around 5:35 a.m. Sunday near Haskell Avenue and Parthenia Street, said Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section. Lara struck Rivas’ vehicle and then fled the scene.

LAPD last reported the surviving victims to be in stable condition. Authorities have not disclosed the relationship between Lara and her passengers.

DEVELOPING::

Geo quick facts: North Hills is a community in the north-central San Fernando Valley, and within the City of Los Angeles, California. North Hills was originally an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After WWII, the newly-developed suburban community was renamed Sepulveda. In the latter 1990s, it was renamed North Hills – Wikipedia.