Teen Dies After Dangerous Stunt In Tarzana

TARZANA (CBSLA.com) -- Instead of observing the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on Tuesday, family and friends are mourning the death of a teenage girl killed after a dangerous stunt involving a moving car in Tarzana.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Tsophia Mesica, 15, was hanging out with a group of teenagers in the remote 3500 block of Reseda Boulevard before she was found bleeding on the ground around 9:15 p.m. Monday.

According to the victim's friends, witnesses told them she was hanging on to the running board of a white SUV as it drove through a roundabout.

"She was grabbing on to the car. And then I don't remember if they said he braked or he pushed the gas too hard.  And then she slipped and fell back and hit her head," said friend Sean Ashkenazi.

Police said friends called 911. But instead of waiting for an ambulance, they drove Mesica to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police said the driver of the car stayed and cooperated with investigators at the site of the accident, which is now a makeshift memorial for the victim.

The tragic loss had served as a learning lesson for the victim's friends.

"I remember I was doing the same thing. We did crazy stuff too. But now, I see what can happen. It's sad," said friend Shaked Kadosh.

"She had a great spirit.  She's not bad vibes," said friend Natalie Fadel. "If you're with her, you had so much fun with her. I was obsessed with her.  She had the best personality ever."

Friends said Mesica attended the Jewish Yeshiva Los Angeles Girls High School. They said she was supposed to be buried Tuesday, but the service has been delayed until Thursday because of the Jewish holiday observance.

Detectives are asking anyone who saw the incident to come forward to help them figure out exactly what happened.