Two young children were killed Sunday night in Rialto when their car was struck by a suspected drunk driver who ran a red light.
The three-vehicle accident occurred at Walnut Drive and Riverside Drive just after 11 p.m., said Sgt. Daniel Smith of the Rialto Police Department.
The girls, ages 3 and 4, were making a left turn onto Walnut with their parents in a white Honda Accord when a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck heading south on Riverside ran a red light and crossed the Accord. He pulled it over and rammed it into a black tow truck. Smith said.
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One of the girls was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, Smith said, while the father was hospitalized with moderate injuries. The girls were seated in the car, but their mother was not injured.
During the investigation, officers discovered that the pickup driver had fled the scene in his own vehicle, even though he was 400 meters away from the scene.
The driver, 28-year-old Alexis Garcia of Buellton, was arrested on two counts of murder, one count of DUI, and one count of felony hit and run. He did not appear in a search of prison records.
The tow truck driver was not injured. Garcia had a passenger in his pickup, but it is unclear whether that person was also arrested.
Nancy Fontan contributed to this report.
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