Two children who ran onto a California highway to retrieve luggage were killed over the weekend and their mother has been charged with driving under the influence in connection to their deaths.
Sandra Ortiz, 33, was booked on multiple felony counts of DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter in connection to the Father’s Day deaths of her children, ages 10 and 16.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the incident took place just before 6:10 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of State Route 78 in Vista, a city within the San Diego-Carlsbad Metropolitan Area.
As of Tuesday online records showed Ortiz remained jailed on $500,000 bond.
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Headed to park for Father’s Day
Alma Guerra, a family member of the victims, told local KFMB the family was en route to a park to celebrate Father’s Day. She identified the children as 10-year-old Alan Aguilar and his 16-year-old sister Amy Aguilar.
“Our understanding was that the mom was driving with kids, and a piece of luggage got displaced from the vehicle and landed in the freeway,” Bret Davidson, Vista Fire Department operations chief told the outlet. “She pulled over to the side of the road, and two of the children exited the vehicle and went into the freeway and were hit at freeway speeds as they tried to retrieve the luggage.”
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A 41-year-old woman driving a white Nissan Sentra, who struck the children, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Davidson said.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
