San Clemente Girl, 14, Found in Car in Irvine Dies of Unknown Causes

A 14-year-old Orange County girl who was found in cardiac arrest early Friday in a car in Irvine died at a hospital a short time later.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of her death.

Rachel Parker, of San Clemente, was found about midnight in a car parked near the northwest corner of Main Street and MacArthur Boulevard, police said.

Orange County Fire Authority paramedics and police had been summoned to the scene by a 911 call for medical attention. The girl was taken to Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 1:09 a.m.

The car was in a parking lot near a group of fast-food restaurants and across the street from a dance club.

Police have been unable to determine whether the girl had been at the club, and have not said who made the 911 call or whether anyone was with Parker when she was found.

“It’s certainly unusual that a 14-year-old would die this way,” Irvine Police Lt. Jeff Love said.

The Orange County coroner’s office performed an autopsy on Parker but the results were inconclusive, Deputy Coroner Rod Thomas said.

He said the girl had no unusual markings on her body and nothing stood out to investigators as a cause of death.

Toxicology tests will be conducted and the results are expected in six weeks, Thomas said.