According to officials, 1 individual died and 2 others sustained life-threatening injuries in Lakeside when a family was struck by a DUI suspect driving without her lights on. The family was getting back home after having diner on Friday.
The accident occurred at 8:17 p.m. and the location of the accident was 12200 block of Woodside Avenue near Lakeside Cafe and La Palapa Mexican Restaurant.
The family members who were involved in the accident included a man, his girlfriend and his parents. They were returning from a restaurant which was across the street when the DUI driver, who was behind the wheel of a Toyota Yaris, crashed into them.
According to a witness, the lights of the motor vehicle driven by the suspected DUI driver, 21-year-old Katie L. Ellison, were not on and he was driving at a high rate of speed.
“I looked up, thinking, ‘this guy’s going fast, no lights on. I looked down at my phone. No sooner than I looked down, I heard, I heard the ‘boom.’ One hit…I knew right away he hit a person.” This was reported to NBC 7 by a person who saw the accident happening live.
The parents sustained serious injuries in the accident and the suspected DUI driver was also seriously injured. All 3 were taken to the UC San Diego Trauma Center.
Attorney Aaron Bortel, Esq. explain a case in which 1 Killed And 2 Injured In DUI Crash In Lakeside.
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California Highway Patrol told that on Saturday morning, Lorraine Kennedy, who was the mother, had died and the father is fighting the battle for life. CHP officials also told that the driver was admitted in hospital for sometime but was discharged on Saturday night and will be locked up into Las Colinas Detention Facility. The charges she will face for her offense will include felony DUI and murder. Other than that, she will be locked up into Las Colinas Detention Facility.
Officials didn’t release the names of the victims but the witnesses told that the victims who sustained injuries in the accident were from Texas and were in San Diego visiting their sons.
An employee of the La Palapa Mexican Restaurant, Nicole Betterton, served the family in the restaurant before the accident and she told that the couple had dinner with their 2 sons and the girlfriend of one of their sons. She also told that one family member performed CPR on Kennedy until paramedics approached the accident spot. She said about the accident that it was “horrible” and she expressed her sorrow on the death of the mother. She added, “My prayers are with them. I’m so, so sorry. If there’s anything we can do – our La Palapa family – we will be there for them”.
“It’s a wake-up call. It’s scary to see this happen. Some people don’t always pay attention, and it’s kind of scary”, Kirsten Jensen told NBC 7.
Another witness told that she stopped at the accident spot and hugged one of the sons, as he was crying because his parents sustained critical injuries.
The video might be recorded in the surveillance cameras that were installed by the surrounding businesses but all owners refused to provide recordings to the investigators.
It was sad that this incident that happened in Lakeside was not the only accident on local roadways that occurred on Friday night because in Sharp Mary Birch Hospital, 1 individual died and another sustained life-threatening injuries in an accident that happened on 3000 block of Health Center Drive. According to investigators, alcohol was not the reason of the second accident.
Another accident happened in the Bay Park community caused by a woman who was driving under the influence of alcohol and she crashed into a parked motor vehicle and dumpster. Her mother was also riding in the motor vehicle and she died due to the critical injuries she sustained in the accident.
News Source: www.NBCSandiego.com
Attorney Aaron Bortel, Esq. explain a case in which 1 Killed And 2 Injured In DUI Crash In Lakeside.
Call Us 24/7 For a FREE Case Evaluation (415) 223-7877
