Suspected drunk driver hits, kills teen on scooter, CA cops say. ‘His whole life, gone’
A 17-year-old died after he was hit by a suspected drunk driver in a hit-and-run, California police say.
The teenager was riding his scooter in Long Beach shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, the Long Beach Police Department said in a news release.
The boy, identified by friends and family as Brandon Cabrera, was accompanied by his cousin, Catherine Chacon, NBC Los Angeles reported.
“I hear like a car speeding, and I turn back, and I see it and start screaming, ‘Brandon! Brandon! Watch out … there’s a car behind you! Be careful. Be careful,’” Chacon told the news station.
Brandon was hit by an SUV, according to police.
“I just ran and screamed his name,” Chacon told NBC Los Angeles.
The driver, identified as Karen Mativa, 35, of Compton, fled the scene and crashed into a nearby apartment complex a short time later, police said.
Mativa then ran from the SUV but soon returned to the scene, where officers arrested her, according to police.
Brandon was taken to a hospital, where died from his injuries, police said.
“He did not deserve to die like this at all, Aniyah Diaz, who was also with Brandon when he was hit, told ABC 7 News. “There goes his whole life, gone.”
“I’m never gonna see him again,” Diaz told KCAL News.
Hours after the collision, friends and family gathered at the corner where Brandon was hit, the news outlet reported.
“He was such a loving boy,” Britney Chacon, another cousin, told the news station. “Every room he went in he filled the room with life — so joyful.”
Mativa was booked into jail on multiple counts, including driving under the influence, hit-and-run resulting in death or injury and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to police. She is being held on $130,000 bail, police said.
Police said they are investigating speed and impaired driving as factors of the collision.
Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact police at 562-570-7355.
4-year-old girl hit and killed as she crosses street with her mom, Wisconsin cops say
Grandma killed in hit-and-run while getting tacos for her family, California cops say
Man convicted of 5 DUIs drives drunk and kills man crossing street, CA officials say
