A 34-year-old woman and two young children, aged 8 and 4, were killed last Saturday evening in Placentia when they were struck by a car while walking. The teenage daughter of the woman witnessed the collision, which happened at approximately 10:23 p.m., just after her family had walked out of their apartment.
Two police officers who were nearby arrived at the scene shortly after the collision happened. There, they found three individuals unconscious on the roadway. Paramedics quickly arrived to tend to the victims, but they were unable to save them and all three of the victims were pronounced dead at the accident site.
Police arrested the driver of the car that struck the victims, a 27-year-old man from Placentia. They suspect that the man was driving under the influence and he was arrested on suspicion of murder. The driver was uninjured.
The 16-year-old daughter of the woman said that they had been dancing and signing to Spanish music and they were all so happy just before the car hit them. She said it was quick and so terrifying. Her mother and sisters were gone in an instant. She said that her mother had done everything to make her and her sisters as happy as possible, and that her mother had separated from her husband three years ago, and that she worked evenings at a factory.
The sad loss of this California mother and her two daughters is a tragedy that their family will not soon forget. When a young mother is lost before her time, however, surviving family members may be able to pursue wrongful death claims for justice. If successfully navigated, this could bring the family of the deceased money to help ease the financial burdens caused by the loss of their loved one.