Police seek driver in California hit and run that killed 3 trick-or-treaters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Detectives continued their search on Saturday for the driver of an SUV who struck and killed three teenage girls trick-or-treating on Halloween in Southern California, and investigators were unsure who was behind the wheel of the vehicle, a police spokesman said. The three girls, ranging in age from 13 to 15, were in costume and carrying candy bags when they were hit while crossing a street on Friday evening in Santa Ana, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Los Angeles. Officers found the sports utility vehicle abandoned behind a nearby retailer, said Santa Ana police spokesman Corporal Anthony Bertagna. Later on Friday night, police went to an address registered as the home of the vehicle's owner, but the occupants of the house had no connection to the SUV, Bertagna said. Detectives are unsure where the registered owner of the vehicle might be living, or whether the SUV had been stolen before the hit and run collision, he said. "It's a work in progress," Bertagna said of the investigation. Authorities have not released the names of the three girls. They were pronounced dead at the scene, Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi said on Friday. The car was moving at a high rate of speed through the intersection before it struck the three girls, Bertagna said. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)