ALHAMBRA — A woman suspected of striking and killing a pedestrian while driving drunk on the freeway in Alhambra has been released from jail as family members of the dead man seek answers about what happened.
Jamie Mulford, 27, of Monterey Park was booked on suspicion of drunken driving following the June 17 incident on the eastbound 10 Freeway near New Avenue, CHP officer Luis Mendoza said.
Jerome Anderson, 60, of Monterey Park died at the scene of the 2:25 a.m crash from “multiple blunt force injuries,” Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said. Coroner’s officials ruled out suicide and determined the death to be accidental.
He is survived by a daughter and 11 grandchildren, said his sister, Sharon Anderson. He also had a son, who died about a decade ago.
“He was a kind person,” she said. “He turned his life over to Christ.”
Sharon Anderson added that her brother grew up in the Pasadena area and attended Pasadena high School.
“Ironically,” she said, Jerome Anderson worked as an instructor with people convicted of drunken driving.
CHP officials have not determined what Anderson was doing on the freeway, Mendoza said. Since there was no disabled car found nearby, authorities suspect he may have simply tried to take a shortcut across the freeway.
Sharon Anderson said she finds that hard to believe.
“There’s something suspicious about the accident, because he would never walk on the freeway in the fast lane,” she said. “He would never take a shortcut across a freeway.”
Though initially held in lieu of $1 million bail on suspicion of vehicular homicide, Mulford was released from jail on her own recognizance Tuesday after investigators determined she was not a flight risk, Mendoza said.
She could not be reached for comment.
Mendoza said Mulford will likely be re-arrested and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide upon the completion of the investigation, which could take up to a month.
The investigation will be in-depth, Mendoza said, and will include profiles of what both Mulford and Anderson were doing in the 48 hours prior to the incident.
Authorities are investigating Mulford on suspicion of vehicular homicide because she has previous convictions for drunken driving, authorities said.
According to Los Angeles County Superior Court records, she was convicted of drunken driving twice in 2005.