A teenage girl asleep in bed was killed early Sunday when a sport utility vehicle plowed into the first story of an apartment complex and struck her in Palmdale, Calif.
Emergency personnel responded around 3:50 a.m. to reports of a vehicle into a building near Avenue R and 10th Street, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Two affected units of the apartment complex were evacuated after the Nissan Pathfinder careened into the complex. A 16-year-old girl inside the apartment was pronounced dead when firefighters arrived on scene, officials said.
Family identified her as Giselle Mendoza, a sophomore at Palmdale High School.
Authorities arrested 20-year-old driver Roberto Rodriguez on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Initial reports indicated that he was taken to a hospital in unknown condition.
Rodriguez was being held on $100,000 bail and was due in court on Tuesday, April 22.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. David Sauer said Rodriguez may have been driving home when he missed his turn.
"We just heard a witness who said that he estimated the speed to be about 80 miles an hour," Sauer said.
About half of the 11-unit complex was eventually evacuated due to leaking fuel, officials said. Residents would be allowed to return once the SUV was removed from the building.
Mendoza's friends told NBC4 that a candlelight vigil would be held near the crash site at 8 p.m.
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