Two toddlers killed in Rialto in crash blamed on suspected drunk driver
Two toddlers were killed Sunday night when a speeding drunk driver ran a red light, causing a three-car collision, police allege.
Just after 11 p.m. the Rialto Police Department responded to a multivehicle collision at the intersection of Riverside and Walnut avenues.
A white Honda Accord with four occupants, including two toddlers ages 3 and 4, was turning left onto Walnut Avenue when a speeding blue Dodge Ram pickup going south on Riverside Avenue ran a red light and T-boned the Honda, sending it crashing into a tow truck, said Rusty Lamm, public information officer for the Police Department.
The driver of the Dodge Ram, whom police identified as 28-year-old Alexis Garcia of San Bernardino, fled the scene, officials alleged.
The two toddlers were in their car seats, but one was ejected from the car and declared dead at the scene, police said.
The 24-year-old female driver and a 25 year-old male passenger in the Honda Accord were transported to a local trauma center with minor to moderate injuries, Lamm said. Officials have not released their names.
Officials said the driver of the tow truck was not injured.
Two people died in two unrelated collisions involving school buses in Lakewood and Lancaster on Friday morning, authorities said.
Photos of the incident shared on the Police Department’s Instagram showed children’s clothing and toys scattered in the intersection in the aftermath of the collision.
According to the Rialto police, officers later discovered the Dodge Ram and Garcia a quarter of a mile away from the incident, where it appears the truck became disabled. He was arrested by police officers on suspicion of murder, driving under the influence of alcohol and felony hit and run and booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Garcia had a passenger in his vehicle at the time of the collision who was not injured, according to police.
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