Three motorists were killed and another was severely injured by an alleged drunk driver on the Huntington Beach portion of the Pacific Coast Highway early in the morning of Thursday, March 29. The incident occurred just before 1 a.m.
Witnesses to the crash reportedly saw the 27-year-old driver of a Hyundai Sonata was apparently driving recklessly immediately before the crash. She was apparently seen swerving sharply within the far right lane and colliding intermittently with the curb as she drove northbound along Pacific Coast Highway.
At one point, a motorist who had been riding alongside the suspected drunk driver noted that she pulled over at a parking meter just before Orange Street. When she did, so too did the other motorist. He apparently asked the woman if she realized that she’d struck the curb several times.
She seemingly did not realize it. The man asked her if she was okay and even offered a ride home, but she declined. She instead took off in the direction of Magnolia Street.
As she approached the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Magnolia Street, she initially came to a stop behind a red Toyota that was stopped at the traffic light. Witnesses watched in dismay, though, as she unexpectedly hit the gas, crashing into the vehicle in front of her. The impact caused a fire to erupt. It quickly engulfed the entire vehicle.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene soon thereafter and extinguished the fire. By the time they made it to the occupants inside of the Toyota, three of them had already perished. The only surviving victim was transported to the nearest trauma center with serious injuries. All of the victims were reportedly teenagers from Las Vegas that had been in the area for spring break.
Once the sole survivor was evacuated from the crash scene, police turned their attention to the driver of the Hyundai, who was apparently still sitting in her car. After questioning her, they decided to place her under arrest for driving under the influence. By the time the San Clemente woman was booked into jail, she’d also been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
If you have lost loved ones at the hands of a suspected drunk driver, then an Orange County, California, attorney can advise you of your right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in your case.
Source: The Orange County Register, “Fiery crash in Huntington Beach kills 3 Las Vegas residents; suspected drunken driver arrested,” Jonathan Winslow, March 30, 2018
