ABC 30 in Fresno reports that a woman was arrested on suspicion of DUI after she slammed into a Fresno apartment building, interrupting a resident family’s Christmas preparations.
In a statement, the Fresno Police Department said the incident happened at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 23. Investigators say that a woman driving an SUV crashed her vehicle into an apartment at the Silver Lakes Apartments at the intersection of Belmont and Minnewawa Avenues in East Central Fresno.
The SUV crashed into the home of Mathiew Zamora, his fiancé Karina Vadrios, and their two children.
“I heard that loud bang noise,” Karina Vidrios told ABC reporter Kate Nemorich. “What I thought it was a light tower or a tornado or an earthquake or something like that. So immediately, my son comes onto me, and I hear screaming.”
Vidrios had been up late baking in preparation for their family’s Christmas celebrations. Her fiancé, Mathiew, was asleep in their shared bedroom with their three-month-old daughter in a bassinet beside their bed.
The force of impact forced Zamora and their daughter across the bedroom. According to Mathiew Zamora, the bed’s headboard probably saved their lives and prevented the SUV from entering the kitchen of the apartment.
Zamora describes hearing the terrifying noise of the SUV’s tires squealing and the driver attempting to start the vehicle’s engine, which was already running. Their five-year-old son was playing in the next room just minutes before the crash.
Police responding to the crash apprehended 30-year-old Patricia Gomez, who was driving along with three passengers in the SUV, two of whom were taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Gomez is facing felony charges of DUI, causing injury to others, at least two counts of child endangerment, as well as misdemeanors, which include obstructing a public officer and driving without a license.
A judge has set Gomez’s bond at more than $123,000.
