{"id":205452,"date":"2026-03-05T10:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/205452\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T10:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:54:12","slug":"family-devastated-after-girl-21-months-killed-by-suspected-dui-driver-in-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/205452\/","title":{"rendered":"Family devastated after girl, 21 months, killed by suspected DUI driver in Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

A family is grieving the unimaginable loss of a 21-month-old girl, killed by a suspected DUI driver while sitting on the front steps of a Long Beach apartment building\u00a0with family members earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Officials with the Long Beach Police Department said\u00a0the\u00a0fatal March 2 accident<\/a>\u00a0occurred\u00a0just before\u00a011:30 a.m.\u00a0at\u00a0440 Maine Avenue when the driver, now identified as Lamont Russell, 55, reversed over a curb\u00a0and struck the toddler, her\u00a0auntie\u00a0and young cousin,\u00a0all of whom were sitting on the front steps.<\/p>\n

Footage captured in the immediate aftermath of the crash\u00a0obtained by KTLA\u00a0showed toddler\u2019s mother,\u00a0Meicole\u00a0Johnson,\u00a0inconsolable after the death of her daughter Myrah Hunter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy baby was everything, smart,\u00a0loving,\u201d she told KTLA\u2019s Carlos Saucedo some three days after the tragedy. \u201cShe loved dancing, singing, coloring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holding onto her 9-month-old son Jerimiah, who was not injured, she recalled what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe driver just came down the\u00a0street\u00a0and he was trying to park right there,\u201d she said. \u201cHe reversed and hit all of them right there that were on the stairs.\u00a0My auntie had broken ribs. Her pelvis is split, rods in her back, and my niece got a broken femur.\u201d<\/p>\n

The toddler\u2019s injuries were so critical that she was raced to the hospital by two police officers.<\/p>\n

\"Toddler<\/a><\/p>\n

Myrah Hunter, 21 months, seen in this undated photo. (viewer image)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe child was taken by a black and white with two officers, one driving and one providing life-saving care on the way to a local hospital,\u201d LBPD Lt. Hotchkiss said.<\/p>\n

The 21-month-old was pronounced dead a short time later.<\/p>\n

The 55-year-old driver, who remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, was arrested not long after the deadly crash on suspicion of\u00a0DUI. He has since been charged with murder.<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach authorities are investigating after three people, including a young child, were hit by a car on Monday, March 2, 2026. (OnScene.TV)<\/p>\n

\"Toddler<\/p>\n

Myrah Hunter, 21 months, seen in this undated photo. (viewer image)<\/p>\n

A day after the terrible ordeal, community members and family members gathered at the crash site, where a small\u00a0but growing\u00a0memorial to Myrah\u00a0could be seen, to release balloons in her honor.<\/p>\n

Ali Neal, Myrah\u2019s cousin had strong words for the man arrested after the crash, as well as to anyone who chooses to drink and drive.<\/p>\n

Arizona woman dies shielding son from attacking dogs in Southern California <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou took a life, a valuable life. You\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0take anybody that\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0matter. She mattered to everyone,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cTo anybody who drinks, who drives,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0do it. Make a smart decision, order an Uber.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family said they are hoping the driver will face\u00a0the maximum\u00a0punishment in the case.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0GoFundMe<\/a>\u00a0has been organized\u00a0to help cover the cost of funeral expenses as Myrah\u2019s mother is forced to\u00a0take\u00a0a step back from work to care for her son and injured family members.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A family is grieving the unimaginable loss of a 21-month-old girl, killed by a suspected DUI driver while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[18942,131,133,132,867,94712],"class_list":["post-205452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-family-members","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-long-beach-police-department","tag-myrah-hunter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}