Irvine Man Charged In Death Of Girlfriend Who Tumbled From Car With Toddler
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — An Irvine man was charged Tuesday with hit-and-run and child abuse in connection with a Halloween night incident that left his 21-year-old girlfriend dead and a 13-month-old child injured.
Francisco Javier Montano, 21, of Irvine, turned himself in Friday evening, the day after 21-year-old Gloria Sanchez and the child tumbled from a Toyota RAV4 that police say Montano was driving eastbound in the 1600 block of West Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana.
Authorities say the woman and child either jumped or fell from the vehicle around 8 p.m. on Oct. 31, but Montano drove away, leaving them in the street.
Authorities did not immediately know the identities of the woman and the child. Sanchez was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The child, whose name has not been released, suffered minor injuries.
Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Anna McIntire said investigators suspect the toddler is the daughter of the
Sanchez and Montano.
Montano has been charged with two felonies -- hit-and-run with permanent injury or death, and child abuse and endangerment -- and a misdemeanor count of driving without a license, the district attorney's office said. He remains jailed in lieu of $200,000 bail pending arraignment Nov. 22.
Montano faces up to seven years in prison and six months in jail if convicted, according to prosecutors.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
