By Joyce Tsai and Jane Tyska
The Oakland Tribune
LIVERMORE, Calif. — A woman and child died from a car accident caused by a suspected DUI driver, who plowed into an apartment complex in the 900 block of Murrieta Boulevard on Saturday evening, police said.
The incident happened about 6:50 p.m., when a 35-year old Livermore resident reportedly lost control of his vehicle while driving eastbound on Murrieta.
He struck the back of the building and hit a 40 year-old woman and 14 month-old girl, who were in the backyard, police said. They died of injuries at the scene.
Two boys, aged 6 and 7, also were transported to area hospitals and are in stable condition.
The driver is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and was arrested for suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The names of the victims are not being released at this time. The collision is still under investigation and no further information was available late Saturday night from police.
Ashton Nelson, 27, neighbor in apartment complex, said that she was just outside of her apartment, barbecuing on the patio, when she heard a “really, loud thunder-like noise.”
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| Brian Jones, 35, of Livermore, is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and was arrested for suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving while under the influence of alcohol causing injury. (Livermore Police Department) |
She immediately grabbed her two-year-old daughter Lux and ran inside, she said. Then, when she looked over her fence, “all I saw was a bumper in debris in millions of pieces, she said. “It was like a horror movie to me.”
After that, it was a jumble of terrifying sights and sounds, she recalled.
A woman was screaming: “there’s a baby!” Then, a man, who she believes was the father, was pounding on the ground in anguish. And a little boy was laying on the grass and having a hard time breathing, she said. He was later taken away by ambulance.
She also spotted the driver, laying the grass, next to the car. He admitted to her he’d been driving and in fact, had lived there for seven years.
“I didn’t personally know them by name but we would say hello,” Nelson said the driver told her. “I would see them outside with their dog and kids.”
“As a mother myself I can imagine and I feel devastated for the family,” she said.
Anyone who witnessed this collision or has any information is urged to contact the Livermore Police Department at 925-371-4777.
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©2015 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.)