Two Chinese women who had recently just graduated from college were run over and killed by a car while crossing a street in Lakewood, California.
Details of the case are subject to further investigation and the parents of the two victims are currently flying to the United States from mainland China to handle the funeral arrangements.
Christine Yan and Isabelle Zhang were both 24-years-old. According to Christine’s aunt, Annie, the incident occurred at Bloomfield Road and Lemming Street at around 8:40 p.m. on Friday, March 12. Christine and Isabelle were hit while crossing the road near their home.
Witnesses at the scene stated there were two adults and one child in the car. The driver was female. After hitting the two women, the female driver dragged one of the victims for about 330 feet before stopping. Isabelle died at the scene. Christine was sent to a nearby hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
Annie believes the deaths of her niece and her friend may have been the result of a hate-crime. Lakewood traffic is not as congested as Downtown Los Angeles and the driver may have intentionally aimed for the two women. Annie is aware of all the anti-Asian hate-crimes going on and doesn’t rule out the possibility.