Three people were killed and almost a dozen others, many of them children, were critically injured after a suspected drunk driver hit pedestrians leaving a Christmas church pageant in Redondo Beach, California, at about 8pm PT Wednesday.
“The crosswalk was full, and the light was red. Someone ran a red light and ... bodies started flying,” witness Marc Zonno told KNBC. “It was pretty horrible.”
Police believe the driver may have been drunk when she sped through a red light and hit people crossing the street, leaving a children’s Christmas pageant at St James Catholic church, according to KNBC.
The woman was driving northbound in a white sedan along the Pacific Coast Highway near Vincent Street when she ran a red light and crashed into the pedestrians, the Associated Press reported. The white car then struck a second vehicle, several outlets reported.
Margo Bronstein, 56, was arrested after the crash Wednesday night on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, Redondo Beach police Lt. Shawn Freeman told the Associated Press.
Three victims died of their injuries: including 81-year-old Mary Anne Wilson, Martha Gaza, 36, and 87-year-old Saeko Matsumura, police told Reuters.
Police took the Bronstein to a hospital. Redondo Beach police told KNBC that the woman is being charged with vehicular manslaughter, and that the case is being investigated as an impaired driving incident. She was held on $300,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
The crash was the second in a Los Angeles suburb in three days, after an allegedly drunk driver injured as many as 15 people parked in front of a Christmas display, according to the Pasadena Star News.
St James Church remained open late Wednesday night, so people could pray for the victims, KNBC reported.
