The best designated drivers are good friends. Many places even offer designated drivers free non-alcoholic beverages and free food. Whatever a person has to celebrate, if alcohol is involved, be certain to plan for a way home other than driving themselves. A designated driver or using Uber or Lyft applications to hail a ride after a night of celebratory drinking. A DUI is a crime that is 100% voluntary and completely preventable. ABC 7 reports on a young man who was killed after a celebratory night when an alleged drunk driver drove the wrong way.
Jehan Mapatuna and his friend, Alazar Omari were out celebrating Mapatuna’s birthday by Mapatuna having a few drinks. Omari agreed to be the designated driver, and they set for home in Omari’s Dodge Caravan.
On the way home, an unidentified female in a Ford Mustang had been driving the wrong way for 7 miles along the 60 Freeway. Just before the Main Street exit in Riverside, she plowed into Omari’s vehicle head-on.
Mapatuna, who was a passenger in the Caravan, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Both drivers were seriously injured as well. Omari has recently been released from the hospital.
Traffic cam footage caught the deadly accident on film.
While the California Highway Patrol says that the driver of the Mustang was under the influence, Omari blames himself for the crash. He believes that he should have seen the wrong-way driver and been able to avoid her.
Jehan had recently been accepted to UCLA to study math and physics.
Once the driver of the Mustang is released from the hospital, she will be arrested for suspicion of DUI.
