Cops: Teen Driver Was Drunk, Lost Control in Collision That Killed Two Downtown

Police say the 19-year-old was drunk when she slammed her Mercedes-Benz into two people who were sleeping on the sidewalk.

A 19-year-old woman who police say ran over and killed two people sleeping on a downtown sidewalk early Sunday has been arrested, police said.

Police said Carmen Elena Chavez of Los Angeles was drunk when of her 1989 Mercedes-Benz careened onto the Crocker Street sidewalk where the two were sleeping.

She had been speeding, attempting to navigate a turn at Crocker and Fourth Streets when the vehicle spun out of control, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Cleon Joseph.

The two people, a man and woman, died at the scene, Joseph said. They have not yet been identified.

Chavez was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail on vehicular manslaughter charges, police said.

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