Crash Victim's Mother: "We Finally Got One of Them"
Adriana Bachan
A woman suspected of being the hit-and-run driver who killed one USC student and seriously injured another over the weekend was under arrest, police said Friday.
Authorities identified the suspect as 30-year-old Claudia Cabrera. She is being held on $1 million bond at Van Nuys Jail.
Police said they are still searching for Cabrera's husband, 31-year-old Josue Luna, who was a passenger in the car. The car is a 2000 Infiniti four-door with California license plate 4DUG665.
Authorities said the couple's 7-month-old infant also was in the car.
The crash occurred at Jefferson Boulevard and Hoover Street.
"I really want to thank the press for keeping this story alive," Carmen Bachan, the victim's mother, said. "This is the way I mourn; I'm mourning my daughter with action. I knew that we were going to get them ... we finally got one of them."
The Los Angeles Times, citing sources close to the investigation, reported that the woman was driving with a suspended license.
About $235,000 in award money was offered in connection with the collision. Police said a lead provided information that led them to arrest Cabrera at the family's residence.
Adrianna Bachan, 18, and Marcus Garfinkle 19, were crossing Jefferson Boulevard at Hoover Street about 3 a.m. Sunday when they were struck by a black car heading south on Jefferson that had gone through a red light, police said.
Bachan was killed, and Garfinkle remains hospitalized in serious condition with two broken legs and other injuries. After the car hit Garfinkle, the driver stopped long enough for a passenger to pull the student off the hood.
At a news conference at USC on Friday morning, the mothers of both victims, along with City Council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry, and an attorney representing an anonymous couple who added $100,000 to the $135,000 reward offered by USC, the City Council and the county Board of Supervisors, said the arrest was good news.
"The update today is a good one. It shows that no tip is too small, that help can come from anyplace," Perry said. "Spreading the word has helped, and will continue to help these families and help our detectives."
Carmen Bachan for the first time showed a smile to cameras as she expressed her thanks to detectives for making the arrest. But that smile soon turned to tears as she spoke about the loss of her daughter.
"Nobody kills my daughter and gets away with it," she said.
Carmen Bachan held up a picture of her daughter and gave thanks for the arrest.
"I really want to thank the press for keeping this story alive," Carmen Bachan said. "This is the way I mourn. I'm mourning my daughter with action. I knew that we were going to get them ... we finally got one of them."
"This couple who increased the reward, I'm sure, is responsible for this case breaking," said Garfinkle's mother, Barbara. "It was a heinous crime and I too want to see justice for our families."
Anyone with more information on the hit-and-run was asked to contact LAPD detectives at 323-290-6070 or 213-485-7336.
