An accident that occurred during a violent carjacking in Pico Rivera resulted in the tragic death of a 13-year-old. The teen that lost her life during the carjacking incident was identified as Isabella Cortes as per accident reports.
Details surrounding the incident are still forthcoming. According to the information available so far, the incident occurred on Sunday, July 5. A Toyota van was parked outside the La Mano Tortilleria on the Whittier Boulevard when a man climbed into the driver’s seat with the intent of carjacking. The man was later identified by the authorities as Jose Aguilar, 26.
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The van had four of the Cortes siblings in it at the time. Their parents had left the van for the moment to pick up food. As Aguilar attempted to get away with the van, two of the siblings fought back. These were identified as an 18-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy.
Isabella Cortes and her younger brother aged 8 were still in the vehicle when Aguilar drove away. As he attempted to flee, both Isabella and her brother were ejected from the vehicle. It isn’t clear whether they ejected when they attempted to escape the carjacked vehicle or for some other reason. However, as Isabella attempted to escape, she sustained critical injuries and died at the scene.
Her brother who was also ejected from the vehicle was transported to a hospital with major injuries. Jose Aguilar, the suspect, was apprehended a few miles from the scene of the tragedy. He is currently being charged with carjacking and murder among other charges. Subsequent accident reports will become available as investigations into the incident continue. These reports may reveal exactly how the two siblings were ejected from the vehicle, leading to the death of Isabella.
Disclaimer: The Safety Watch article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.
The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.