The horrific car crash in Ludi, Calif., that left a family of six dead Tuesday night was likely caused by a speeding driver talking on a cell phone, the Lodi News-Sentinel reported.
Police are still investigating the collision.
Six members of one family, Stephanie Miranda, 4, Jose Miranda, 5, and Irving Miranda, 11, died along with Luis Miranda, 30, and Vivian Rodriguez, 31, who was pregnant. Nine-year-old Eden Miranda, the only remaining survivor, is being treated in the hospital.
Twelve people were killed or injured altogether, authorities said.
The death toll rose to seven after Lodi police announced Wednesday that a passenger in one of the vehicles died while being treated at a local hospital Tuesday night.
An additional four people were transported to area hospitals, where three underwent surgery, Lodi Police Lt. Sierra Brucia said. Two others were treated at the scene and released.
Police have not made any arrests connected to the crash, but they have served two search warrants. Witnesses said the collision was caused by a driver who sped down Ham Lane at speeds they estimated at 80 miles per hour while talking on a cell phone.
Brucia said that it could be "quite a while" before police and the District Attorney's office decide whether to file charges against anybody involved in the crash.
"These types of investigations are very lengthy and take a long time to complete," he said.
The man who allegedly caused the crash is alive and in the hospital.
Yula Ocampo, a 15-year-old niece of the victims, visited the intersection Wednesday afternoon to lay flowers at the crash site and mourn the loss of her family members. She told the News-Sentinel she and her siblings did not find out about the collision until they got home from school Wednesday.
Ocampo said Luis Miranda was her father's uncle, and that her parents and siblings, as well as the rest of the family, are angered by the entire incident.
"The family is mad," she said. "It's not fair that the man who caused the accident is in the hospital, while my cousins and aunt and uncle are dead."
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