Four Dead in San Diego Drunk Driving Accident
According to Reuters, a U.S. Navy serviceman was arrested Sunday after his pickup truck ran off a ramp leading to San Diego’s Coronado Bridge and killed four people at a motorcycle rally and festival in a park. The Navy serviceman was intoxicated.
Details About the Crash
The four victims were in a vendor’s booth at around 3:30 p.m. whenever the truck ran off of the bridge ramp and fell 60 feet into Chicano Park.
In addition to the four fatalities, there were nine people, including the driver, that were injured but authorities would not disclose their conditions.
The truck was traveling northbound on Interstate 5 whenever the driver lost control while exiting the freeway and crashed into a guardrail, which sent the vehicle crashing into the park below.
Richard Sepolio, the driver, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He was being treated for serious injuries at a University of California at San Diego hospital. The suspect is around 24 or 25 years old and assigned to the North Island Naval Air Station on Coronado Island. He did not tell his rank or hometown, and Navy officials weren’t available for comments.
The air station is about four miles from the crash site.
The fatalities were a 62-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman from Chandler, Arizona; and a 59-year-old woman and 49-year-old man from Hacienda Heights in Los Angeles County, California.
National Auto Accident Statistics
The following information was provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
- 32,675 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2013, marking a slight decrease from the 32,894 deaths recorded in 2013.
- Of those killed in 2014:
- 21,022 were occupants of passenger vehicles
- 4,884 were pedestrians
- 4,586 were motorcyclists (operators and passengers)
- 726 were pedalcyclists
- 657 were occupants of large trucks
- 203 were listed as other or as unknown
- An additional 2,338,000 people were injured in auto accidents in 2014.
