Three people were hit and killed by drivers either under the influence or speeding in South Los Angeles on Thanksgiving day, marking the ninth fatal accident in the LAPD South Traffic Division in the last week and a half alone.
Detectives fear the death toll will soon increase to 10 as an 8-year-old child continues to fight for her life in the hospital.
“In 28 years, this is the worst Thanksgiving I’ve ever seen,” expressed Detective Ryan Moreno of the LAPD South Traffic Division. He responded to all three accidents on Thursday.
The first accident was around 5:30 a.m. in Harbor Gateway near the intersection of 18th Street and Figueroa. A suspected drunk driver going more than 100 miles per hour hit a car with three young women, killing a 24-year-old mother.
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“A young mother of a 5-year-old son, a single mother… that was a tough thing yesterday, was knowing that this little boy, his mom, was not going to come home,” Moreno said.
Then, just after 1 p.m., a suspected drunk driver pulled out of a liquor store on Western Avenue near 83rd Street and hit another driver who was speeding. The speeding driver then ran into 26-year-old Alma Letecia Aragon, who was walking with her 8-year-old daughter. The mother died and the child remains braindead, still fighting for her life as of Friday.
“It’s looking right now, it’s going to take a miracle that this girl to pull out. We’re all praying for her that she makes it,” Moreno said.
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Then, after 11 p.m., just 10 streets away on Western and 73rd, detectives responded to a speeding driver high on marijuana who hit and killed an older homeless man.
“All of these cases range from manslaughter, to possibly murder, actually it is going to be murder in a couple of them,” Moreno explained, adding that a manslaughter charge turns into a murder charge when a car becomes a weapon, which includes speeding, running red lights, and racing. An investigation includes tracking a driver’s prior maneuvers on surveillance cameras.
“It’s people just now, self-entitled, thinking, they can do whatever they want,” Moreno said.
In total, 101 people have died in vehicular accidents in South LA this year, according to LAPD.
Moreno said it’s not just one street or one area, it’s everywhere so things like stop signs, speed bumps, and increased patrols won’t stop people from the poor decisions they’re making.
LAPD is currently looking into license plate reading cameras to crack down on these drivers, but their main plea this holiday season is that people plan ahead, don’t drive under any influence and slow down.
