Two people were killed and three injured when a suspected drunk driver slammed into a taco truck in Boyle Heights. (KTLA-TV)
Posted on 06/17/2012 8:54:48 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A suspected drunk driver leading police on a pursuit caused a deadly crash when her car collided into a taco truck.
California Highway Patrol noticed the driver weaving in and out of lanes on the eastbound 10 Freeway around 11 p.m. Saturday.
The female driver continued to drive after officers attempted to pull her over, eventually taking the pursuit to the 5 Freeway.
She then exited at Cesar Chavez Avenue, and, ignoring traffic signs, drove through a parking lot and into a crowded taco truck.
Two people standing outside the truck were hit and later pronounced dead.
One of the victims, 19, leaves behind a 1-year-old baby.
"[The driver] came off the freeway and hit my daughter and tore her apart," her emotional mother said.
The other victim, who has also not been identified, is a woman in her late 30s.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Two people were killed and three injured when a suspected drunk driver slammed into a taco truck in Boyle Heights. (KTLA-TV)
The ugly side of drinking and driving.
Yup. That’s why I quit drinking.
Because I couldn’t quit driving.
What the hell is a taco truck? Must be a California and Arizona thing. In Fl, we have a truck that brings shells, tomato, lettuce, ground beef, and sauce..
Good for you and thanks.
I’m going to place the blame for the deaths and injuries completely on the drunken driver.
Now what to do with her?
Even with two counts of vehicular homicide I doubt the death penalty is legal in California.
Just a side comment, Cesar Chavez Avenue probably has more taco trucks per mile than most other streets.
A good street taco from a taco truck are pretty dam good
Drinking and driving is stupid and wrong.
A hot police pursuit under these circumstances is stupid and wrong.
Police need to have strict rules regarding when a pursuit is appropriate. It is almost certain that these two people would still be alive if they had not pursued the driver after trying to pull her over. They had her license info so they could have picked her up later without incident. Much safer to let a drunk drive on home rather than chase them at high speed....stupid, so effing stupid.
“Much safer to let a drunk drive on home rather than chase them at high speed...”
You can’t be serious.
Are you actually suggesting that drunk drivers NOT get stopped and arrested?
Letting them successfully flee only postpones the carnage until later. Better to stop them immediately.
If they decide to rabbit, then all consequences land on them, NOT the agency attempting the stop.
Not to detract from the tragic nature of this story but taco trucks are all over southern California. Basically, a large van where one side opens into a veranda with a propane grill inside. They show up to workplaces and cook up the most outstanding Mexican food I've ever eaten (in addition to burgers, sandwiches, fried foods and whatnot).
There were two of them that worked the rounds at NAS North Island while I was stationed there. I often joked that the burritos were made with crack because they were so addictive! Now that I'm back in Florida, taco trucks are one of the things I miss most from my days in San Diego.
Many on here might not like this but this is one good reason for the coming aerial drones in police work. No need for pursuits. Drone monitors and updates from above and suspect can be taken into custody without a major incident.
Unless, of course, she continued, on blew a red light, plowed into another couple of cars, killing their occupants and a couple of pedestrians.
Then, folks like you would be up in arms that the police had spotted her and let her keep going.
Second guessing makes anyone look like a genius.
The driver was already “weaving in and out of lanes” on the freeway. It is quite likely that the same sort of thing would have happened at some point that evening.
I think an attempted stop and pursuit was appropriate. Also, if they let the driver leave the car and go into her house, they can no longer get her for DUI, since they can’t prove who was driving.
Sounds nicer than “Roach Coach”.
Yup. And note the drunk kills others before they kill themselves.
good on ya... and your line is a classic. Most drunks quit driving before they quit drinking
Drunk drivers don't get the death penalty in California or any other state. However, it's unlikely she'll see the outside of a jail cell for the next decade. That's a helluva hangover to wake up to.
No but if convicted of vehicular homicide she will spend a long stretch in stoney lonesome.
Most drunks miraculously manage to get home OK.
I had an uncle who was constantly driving drunk...he always got home. He was a nut and should have been thrown in jail.
I would have run the plates and had someone waiting at her home for her to drive up and park (thus avoiding a chase)....but I’m not a cop so what do I know.
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