Wounded Driver Dies After Hitting Light Pole

A 36-year-old woman died after she was shot in the head as she drove down a Huntington Park street Wednesday morning and her truck crashed into a light pole, police said.

Maria S. Gutierrez of Fontana was southbound on State Street near Florence Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when an assailant fired a gun from outside a doughnut shop, said Sgt. Mike Craven. She continued down State Street for three blocks and then her truck struck a light pole at Live Oak Street, Craven said.

Two people saw the shooting and one said the gunman had come from in or near the doughnut shop, Craven said. A clerk in the shop said he vaguely remembered the gunman sitting at one of the tables, Craven said.

Several people came to Gutierrez’s aid before police arrived. One of them answered her cellular phone and told her daughter about the incident, Craven said.

Police initially thought Gutierrez was the victim of massive head trauma suffered in the crash, Craven said. Then they learned that a call of shots being fired had come in at about the same time as reports of the car crash.

“The question is, did she die from the gunshot wound or did she die from injuries sustained in the car crash after she was shot?” said Scott Carrier, spokesman for the county coroner’s office. “That’s not clear until after she’s been examined.”

The truck hit the light pole at a high speed and left no skid marks, police said.