Mother dead, daughter injured by suspected drunk driver with previous DUI conviction
A man who was convicted of driving under the influence earlier this year is back in custody after police say he drove drunk again Sunday night and fatally struck a woman in North Hills.
Jose Armando Macias, 22, was booked on suspicion of second-degree murder after he hit six parked cars with his truck and then fatally struck 34-year-old Ruth Chinchilla on Woodley Avenue about 10:30 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a news release.
Chinchilla had just carried her infant son inside and was standing in the bicycle lane in the street taking her daughter out of a rear car seat when she was hit, KCBS-TV Channel 2 reported. The impact propelled her 30 feet down the road and the girl 60 feet, said Det. Bill Bustos.
Chinchilla was pronounced dead at the scene. Her daughter remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, officials said.
The ages of the children were not released.
Macias remained at the scene and was arrested.
According to court records, Macias pleaded no contest Aug. 30 to a DUI in connection with his arrest by LAPD Van Nuys officers in June.
His driver’s license has been suspended since January 2016 for a failure to appear in court, DMV records show. Since then, Macias has racked up several tickets and been deemed at fault in one car crash on top of his arrests in June and on Sunday, according to court records.
Macias is being held on $2-million bail. An arraignment date has not been set.
Twitter: @JosephSerna
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