Who is Kristopher Baca? Hit-and-run driver, 17, who mowed down woman and baby with stolen car shot dead
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kristopher Baca, the 17-year-old teenager whose case got into the spotlight and caught the attention of national media in 2021, has been shot dead. He was accused and then convicted of running a stolen car into a mom who was walking her baby in a stroller, following the confession. However, he received a meager punishment.
Deputies found him dead with gunshot wounds in a Palmdale driveway on the 83600 blocks of 11th Street East on Wednesday evening, according to the sheriff's office. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office confirmed his death Friday but said the examination was still pending, as per Fox News.
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Baca had received just a few months of diversionary camp as punishment in 2021 despite driving a stolen car after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon's office sought a five- to seven-month sentence in juvenile probation camp. The video on August 6, 2021, which caught him ramming his vehicle into the mom and baby also made national headlines and had clearly shown it threatened the life of both mom and the baby. Baca was 15 when the incident happened.
Moreover, as per reports, at the time of the hit-and-run, the teen was already on felony probation for poisoning a high school girl's drink. Sources told the outlet that Baca had been at a fast food restaurant earlier trying to "get with a girl." As he walked home alone, a car pulled up next to him and an argument broke out. Someone in the vehicle opened fire, then sped off.
Rachel, the young mother only identified by her first name was disappointed by the punishment and eventually moved her family out of Los Angeles. The family accused the authorities of being soft on crime policies. As she was approached by the outlet on Friday after Baca's death, she said the news had both relieved and saddened her.
"The universe delivered the justice we weren’t given in court, but a much harsher punishment than he’d have been dealt in a court of law," she said. "I think I feel shorted – by the system because they didn’t hold him accountable and sad, not for him, but for his mom a little, because if George Gascon actually did his job this kid would still be alive in jail," Rachel said.