Reward doubled in search for hit-and-run driver
A second anonymous donor came forward and doubled to $10,000 the reward offered for information leading to the hit-and-run driver who killed a 13-year-old Desert Hot Springs girl on Nov. 16.
Carissa Nwene was fatally injured about 7:30 a.m. that day while on her way to Desert Springs Middle School. She was walking north on Palm Drive, south of Camino Campesino, when she was hit and thrown 50 feet from the roadway, police said.
The teen's mother, Sheila Barnett, received a call yesterday from a woman who said she would double the $5,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Carissa's killer, The Desert Sun reported.
Since the girl's death, police have been working leads that have led them as far as Los Angeles.
Police believe the teen was hit by a 1997 or 1998 Ford Econoline van that is likely missing a Triton-V8 emblem. The white van is also believed to have sustained damage to the right headlight and right-side blinker, according to Sgt. Radames Gil.
Anyone with information about the driver should call police at 760-329-2904.
—From news services