Family mowed down by driver in Rialto
Spent morning milling around scene of horrific accident in Rialto yesterday which left a baby girl dead and her mother, father and brother injured.
Family was riding bicycles Sunday when they were run down by a drunk driver.
The crash scene stretched roughly 200 yards, zigging from one side of
Willow Avenue to the other.
A bent traffic sign and black-rubber coated curb in front of Amber
Steel south of the railroad tracks on Willow Avenue marked where Jesse Astorga, 27,
lost control as he was traveling north.
He veered onto the eastern sidewalk, skid marks marking his path, narrowly missing two trees and a light pole and striking the family.
Astorga then banked left, crossing into the street and coming to rest against the curb about 40 yards away from the initial impact.
Brooks, who was carried by (suspects name) Honda SUV, came was left lying in the gutter, a firefighter said Monday.
Yellow paint traced the car's path. Orange markings indicated where victims were found.
A few scraps from the violent accident remained Monday. A piece of the Honda's broken rim. A clear plastic medical glove. A ripped, paint-splattered bicycle tire innertube. All laid in the gravelly landscaping where the family was initially struck.
A black elastic headband soaked in the trickling gutter where Brooks came to rest.
Business went on as close to usual as could be expected Monday at the numerous city and school district offices lining the corridor where the crash occurred.
The Honda SUV, with driver-side wheels busted down and windshield smashed, sat in grim repose behind a chain-link fence just 20 or so yards west of the site of impact. The city's tow-yard happened to be right there.
One bouquet of yellow flowers sat aside a tree near the point of initial impact, brought by three twenty-somethings who said they didn't know the family, but read about the tragedy and wanted to pay respects.
"I have five kids, so this news just hit me very hard," said one of the mourners, Nicole Padilla, 28.
Rialto School District employee Beverly Brandon said some co-workers were unaware what transpired right in front of the offices the day before. She said she didn't know the accident had occurred so close.
"Walking down the street is always a crapshoot," Brandon said.
One city worker, Chuck Masel, pulled off the road to take a look.
"Oh man, it's just so sad," he said. "I hope that other baby pulls through."
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