Sacramento, California: Girl, 1, Dies After Vehicle Hits Her and a Man Inside Saint Mary's Cemetery

A 1-year-old girl died and an adult man was hurt on Sunday afternoon after a vehicle struck them inside Saint Mary's Cemetery in Sacramento, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

CBS Sacramento reported that the man was the girl's father and that the collision happened during Dia de los Muertos, when families visit cemeteries to honor relatives who have died. ABC10 and KCRA 3 also reported the child's death on Sunday.

What police say happened

Officers responded just after 4:45 p.m. on November 1 to reports of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision in the 6700 block of 21st Avenue, inside the cemetery grounds, police said. Officers who arrived found an adult man and a 1-year-old child who had been involved in the collision. Both were taken to an area hospital. The girl died at the hospital despite lifesaving measures, police said. The man's injuries were not life-threatening.

Police have not released the girl's name. No name for the man was released in the reports either, and this story does not publish one.

A person of interest was detained

A person of interest was detained, according to a written statement provided by Sacramento police public information officer Allison Smith. Detectives were working to determine that person's involvement in the collision and whether driving under the influence was a factor, the statement said. Police have not announced an arrest, and they have not said what led the vehicle to the two pedestrians inside the cemetery.

The investigation

Detectives from the department's Major Collision Investigation Unit and crime scene investigators took over the investigation. Police said their work would include canvassing the area, interviewing witnesses and processing the scene. The investigation remains active. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact the Sacramento Police Department at (916) 808-5471.

Saint Mary's Cemetery sits in south Sacramento, and its grounds fill with visitors on Dia de los Muertos weekend. What happened on Sunday turned a day of remembrance into a police investigation, and the questions police still have to answer are who was driving, how the vehicle reached the man and the child, and whether impairment played any part.