Officials ID Girl Who Died While Allegedly Car Surfing In Tarzana

TARZANA (CBSLA.com/AP) — Authorities have identified a girl who was killed in an accident that a friend said occurred while she was hanging on to the running board of an SUV as it drove through a roundabout.

The coroner's office says Tsofia Mesica of Agoura Hills died at a hospital Monday. A preliminary investigation finds the teen fell from a vehicle and may have been run over at a Tarzana park.

"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," Mesica's friend Sean Ashkenazi told CBS2/KCAL9.

Investigators say friends called 911. Instead of waiting for an ambulance, they drove Mesica to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police say 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.

Mesica's death has shown her friends the deadly consequences of the stunt often referred to as "car surfing."

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

Mesica was scheduled to be buried on Thursday.

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