The decision to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs doesn’t only affect the person who makes that choice. Every other person on the road is also put at risk for severe injury or worse.
KCRA News reports that a driver who made such a choice has been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after a two-vehicle crash in Sacramento on Thursday morning. That crash left one woman dead and severely injured a child.
According to a statement released by the California Highway Patrol, the crash happened at approximately 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Power Inn Road and Elsie Avenue when a driver heading eastbound blew through a red light and crashed into a northbound Ford Explorer SUV.
The force of the impact caused the SUV to overturn while the white 2006 Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck landed in a nearby ditch.
The 34-year-old Sacramento woman driving the SUV was declared dead at the scene, while paramedics rushed a 4-year-old child inside the vehicle to an area hospital. They currently list the child in critical condition.
Authorities say that the relationship between the woman and the child is unclear.
The 32-year-old male pickup truck driver who caused the crash attempted to flee the scene. Eyewitnesses detained the suspect until law enforcement officers arrived at the scene.
CHP officers arrested the driver at the scene on suspicion of DUI. Authorities had not released the suspect’s name at the time of the report.
The accident is still currently under investigation.
