Multiple car accidents in Northern California over the weekend killed a mother. Police in Golden State say the accidents were caused by a drunk driver with a history of driving while drunk.
She was 31 years old. Jessica Avila Muñoz was killed on Friday afternoon. As a single mother, she leaves behind her 13-year-old daughter and a community of friends and coworkers in Sonoma County who are sad about her death. She worked as a youth counselor at a juvenile correctional center.
A press statement from the Santa Rosa Police Department says that 68-year-old Nhan Van Nguyen is being charged with gross vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI causing great bodily harm.
Police say Muñoz was on her way to pick up her daughter from school when the accident happened. A Dodge truck and a Toyota Prius crashed into her Honda car around 1:30 p.m., crushing it between them. The accident happened on a major road in Santa Rosa, a big city in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Police wrote, “Based on witness statements and local video surveillance, it looked like the driver of the Honda was making a left turn from Lombardi Court to Sebastopol Road, which was going east.” “The Dodge pickup was going west on Sebastopol Road. It looked like it ran the red light and hit the Honda at the intersection.” The Honda hit the Prius after the first crash. The Prius was stopped going east on Sebastopol Road.
Muñoz was taken out of the car by firemen while she was unconscious and rushed to a nearby hospital, but she later died from her injuries.
Police said Nguyen was taken to the hospital right away because he looked like he might have been hurt in the crash as well. He was finally released without any injuries and taken to jail, where he was booked and charged.
Police also said that the driver of the Prius was not hurt and stayed at the scene.
Police who were investigating the crash say the pickup truck driver “displayed signs of alcohol impairment at the time of the collision.” Police said Nguyen’s license had been suspended at the time of the accident.
After the fact, police said they were sure Nguyen was drunk when he hit Muñoz’s car. The police did not say how much booze was in his blood on that terrible day.
From what we know about the pickup truck driver’s past, however, driving drunk wasn’t at all unusual for him.
The cops say that Nguyen had been arrested four times in the past for DUI.
Two different online fundraisers were held to honor Muñoz and help her family pay for her funeral and other costs.
A GoFundMe page by Joselin Lopez says, “Jessica was a loving mother, sister, daughter, and friend.” “She was nice, funny, driven, and could do anything she set her mind to.” She just started working so that she can give her daughter a better life. We lost her too soon.
The Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association started a second event to raise money. A lot of praise was given to Muñoz by her peers:
Records show that Nguyen is being held in the Sonoma County Jail without bail at this time.
