Los Angeles Injury Attorney Blog

A 12-year-old Los Angeles girl and her 21-year-old cousin tragically died Sunday night when a suspected drunk driver ran a stop sign and struck the vehicle they were riding in, the San Bernardino Sun reported today.

The fatal intersection accident occurred at North Macy Street and Mesa at 8:25 p.m., the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner said in a press release. According to reports, the 12-year-old girl, Sandra Ceballos, was a passenger in the rear-middle seat of a silver 2004 Kia Optima travelling southbound on North Macy Street in Muscoy. Her cousin, Timothy Sigala Jr., the front seat passenger, was critically injured.

A 1998 Chevy pickup truck travelling eastbound on Mesa reportedly failed to stop at the stop-sign and broadsided the Kia. The collision forced the Kia into a wooden fence and the vehicle came to rest against a nearby palm tree.

San Bernardino Fire Department responders arrived at the scene approximately five minutes after the crash and found Ceballos dead at the scene. Timothy Sigala Jr. was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was removed from life support Monday night. Ceballos' mother and 14-year-old brother were also badly injured in the accident.

Our sympathy and condolences out to the family of Sandra Ceballos and Timothy Sigala and everyone who knew and loved them. Please keep their family in your prayers. We hope the others hurt in this crash make a full recovery.

Cause of the Crash

Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation by the CHP, the San Bernardino Sun stated that the driver of the Chevy ran a stop sign. The Press-Enterprise reported Monday that the driver of the Chevy, Alexander Velasco, 21, of San Bernardino, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. If news reports are accurate, the driver of the Chevy truck caused this crash by making the decision to drink and drive. Crashes caused by drunk drivers are 100% preventable.

DUI Laws in California

Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is against the law under California Vehicle Code (CVC) § 23152(1), which states "It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle." The driver, if he was determined to be under the influence of alcohol, will likely face charges of vehicular manslaughter for the death of the young girl killed in this crash. Under California Penal Code § 191.5 (a) Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought, in the driving of a vehicle, where the driving was in violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of the Vehicle Code, and the killing was either the proximate result of the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, and with gross negligence, or the proximate result of the commission of a lawful act that might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence."