INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Police vehicles were involved in a pair of accidents Thursday that left one pedestrian dead and another badly injured.

In Perris, the California Highway Patrol has taken over an investigation into a mishap in which a pedestrian was struck by a sheriff’s patrolcar on Perris Boulevard near Nuevo Road. Witnesses said the young female was running across the street when she was struck. In a statement issued Friday, the sheriff's department said the deputy was responding to a routine call when the girl ran into the street and hit the side of the officer's vehicle. Leticia Ramirez, 15, of Perris died later at a hospital.

Earlier in Woodcrest, a pedestrian struck by a Riverside police unit Thursday is in critical but stable condition. According to a police account, the man stepped off the center divider along Van Buren Boulevard near Wood Road and into the path of the eastbound patrolcar. Van Buren was closed for an investigation creating a gridlock on streets for several miles.

Story Date: November 22, 2017