KTLA Channel 5 News reported recently that a local driver suspected of being intoxicated when he allegedly caused a car wreck in Palmdale last week now faces charges for the death of a young toddler killed in the tragic accident.
According to officials from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the suspect, a California City man 26 years of age, was allegedly driving under the influence when he was behind the wheel on Sunday, November 15 in Palmdale with a woman and her two children as his passengers. They were near the intersection of Avenue P and 240th Street East when he crashed into a dirt embankment, causing the vehicle to overturn.
A two-year-old boy was killed in the accident, and his three-year-old sister was injured, albeit not seriously. Their mother, a woman 23 years of age, suffered moderate injuries in the collision.
The driver faces charges including one felony count each of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury, gross vehicular manslaughter, two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and one misdemeanor count of driving when privilege suspended or revoked, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The charges carry a possible sentence of thirteen years in state prison.