CAR CRASH: Seven injured, one woman dead after car spins into a crowd

July 5, 2010

Santa Clarita – The Fourth of July celebration for the residents of Valencia, California was cut short when a car crashed into a crowd of people watching fireworks on Sunday night and left one woman dead.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Darren Harris, a white Infiniti was driving along the eastbound lane of Valencia Boulevard around 9:30 p.m. Initial investigation shows that the 22-year-old woman behind the wheel drove through the red light at the Mall Entrance Drive intersection.

The car crashed into a Dodge Durango SUV on the westbound. Its 19-year-old driver was just about to turn left onto the Mall Entrance when it happened.

This caused the Infiniti to spin and hit a crowd sitting on the south curb of Valencia Boulevard who was watching the fireworks show on Westfield Valencia Town Center. Reportedly, the woman got distracted by the fireworks.

Witness Robert Turnbull added that the white car collided with a traffic pole and pinned 43-year-old Newhall native Matilda Garnica and her 13-year-old son. Turnbull said that it was “instantly clear that Garnica did not survive.”

People tried to help and move the car off the woman. The kid struggled to breathe when the car was lifted off him. He was taken to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and is still in critical condition.

Seven other people, including another one of Garnica’s children, were injured. Her 12-year-old son suffered non-threatening injuries. He was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and was later released.

Neither driver was injured. Authorities will conduct investigation to know if the drivers were under the influence of any controlled substances. No arrests have been made, but a case will be presented to the LA County District Attorney as it appears that beating the red light was the cause of the accident.