BY KEVIN PEARSON
STAFF WRITER [email protected]
An 18-year-old driver was traveling faster than 50 mph in a school zone and weaving through traffic when he ran a red light and plowed into a group of about 30 students in a crosswalk last week at Hemet High School, California Highway Patrol officials announced Monday, June 4.
Daniel Carrillo, who had been issued a driver’s license 15 days before the crash, is expected to be charged this week with various crimes, CHP officials said. The impact injured eight students, including one who remains in critical condition.
The speed limit in the area around Hemet High School is 35 mph or, when students are present, 25 mph.
Carrillo told investigators that the brakes on his pickup had failed, but CHP officials said Monday that they found no evidence that the brakes were faulty.
Officers said that Carrillo, who recently completed his junior year at Hemet High School, pulled into a right turn lane at the intersection where the students were crossing and bypassed traffic stopped at the red light.
The Riverside County district attorney’s office likely will file charges against him by the end of this week, the CHP said.
“While those specific charges have not been chosen yet, they are serious,” CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer said. “We do anticipate an arrest.”
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers had to restrain Carrillo and his family and separate them from witnesses at the scene following the crash. On Monday, Meyer said Carrillo has not been completely truthful since the accident and that the passengers, Carrillo’s twin brother, David, and a 16-year old friend, Armando Gonzalez, also have not been completely cooperative.
Neither the Carrillos nor Gonzalez could be reached for comment Monday.
MOST OUT OF HOSPITAL
Seven of the students have been released from local hospitals.
Helen Richardson remains in critical condition with a head injury and is being treated at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley. She was run over by the truck as it sped down Stetson Avenue and through the crosswalk at Bulldog Way.
Meyer said Richardson, 15, has shown improvement but could not elaborate further.
Carrillo could potentially face multiple charges for each injured victim, Meyer said.
“This incident was not an accident,” Meyer said. “It’s an avoidable act.”
The CHP said Carrillo was driving his 1994 Ford Ranger west on Stetson Avenue when he went through a green light at Stanford. Multiple cars were stopped at a red light at Bulldog Way to allow students to cross Stetson into the student parking lot area near the Hemet High football field.
Meyer said Carrillo failed to slow down. Witnesses at the scene said they heard the truck’s engine rev. About 30 people were in the crosswalk. The wreck was captured on multiple cameras at the school. The video tape, which Meyer said was “shocking and quite sickening,” will not be released.
Carrillo’s truck is being held as evidence.
“We do believe there was negligence as far as his driving that led to this incident,” Meyer said. “I’ve been on the patrol for 14 years, and while we have had mass casualty incidents, there has been nothing like this, where it’s happened in front of a school.
“It’s serious any time anyone is injured, but this makes it even more critical. The last thing they were thinking about was getting run over before they went on summer break.”
Follow Kevin Pearson on Twitter @pe_kevinpearson or online at blog. pe.com/hemet
STAFF WRITER [email protected]
An 18-year-old driver was traveling faster than 50 mph in a school zone and weaving through traffic when he ran a red light and plowed into a group of about 30 students in a crosswalk last week at Hemet High School, California Highway Patrol officials announced Monday, June 4.
Daniel Carrillo, who had been issued a driver’s license 15 days before the crash, is expected to be charged this week with various crimes, CHP officials said. The impact injured eight students, including one who remains in critical condition.
The speed limit in the area around Hemet High School is 35 mph or, when students are present, 25 mph.
Carrillo told investigators that the brakes on his pickup had failed, but CHP officials said Monday that they found no evidence that the brakes were faulty.
Officers said that Carrillo, who recently completed his junior year at Hemet High School, pulled into a right turn lane at the intersection where the students were crossing and bypassed traffic stopped at the red light.
The Riverside County district attorney’s office likely will file charges against him by the end of this week, the CHP said.
“While those specific charges have not been chosen yet, they are serious,” CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer said. “We do anticipate an arrest.”
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers had to restrain Carrillo and his family and separate them from witnesses at the scene following the crash. On Monday, Meyer said Carrillo has not been completely truthful since the accident and that the passengers, Carrillo’s twin brother, David, and a 16-year old friend, Armando Gonzalez, also have not been completely cooperative.
Neither the Carrillos nor Gonzalez could be reached for comment Monday.
MOST OUT OF HOSPITAL
Seven of the students have been released from local hospitals.
Helen Richardson remains in critical condition with a head injury and is being treated at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley. She was run over by the truck as it sped down Stetson Avenue and through the crosswalk at Bulldog Way.
Meyer said Richardson, 15, has shown improvement but could not elaborate further.
Carrillo could potentially face multiple charges for each injured victim, Meyer said.
“This incident was not an accident,” Meyer said. “It’s an avoidable act.”
The CHP said Carrillo was driving his 1994 Ford Ranger west on Stetson Avenue when he went through a green light at Stanford. Multiple cars were stopped at a red light at Bulldog Way to allow students to cross Stetson into the student parking lot area near the Hemet High football field.
Meyer said Carrillo failed to slow down. Witnesses at the scene said they heard the truck’s engine rev. About 30 people were in the crosswalk. The wreck was captured on multiple cameras at the school. The video tape, which Meyer said was “shocking and quite sickening,” will not be released.
Carrillo’s truck is being held as evidence.
“We do believe there was negligence as far as his driving that led to this incident,” Meyer said. “I’ve been on the patrol for 14 years, and while we have had mass casualty incidents, there has been nothing like this, where it’s happened in front of a school.
“It’s serious any time anyone is injured, but this makes it even more critical. The last thing they were thinking about was getting run over before they went on summer break.”
Follow Kevin Pearson on Twitter @pe_kevinpearson or online at blog. pe.com/hemet
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/hemet/hemet-headlines-index/20120604-hemet-chp-says-trucks-brakes-are-fine.ece
Source: The Press EnterpriseCHP: Brakes on speeding truck were fine A Hemet High student’s pickup plowed into students last week. One of the youths hit remains in critical condition BY KEVIN PEARSON STAFF WRITER [email protected] An 18-year-old driv