ROWLAND HEIGHTS >> A woman is accused of intoxicated driving after she abruptly stopped her car along a major street, abandoned the vehicle and allowed it to careen into opposing traffic in a “bizarre” crash captured in a video that emerged this weekend, officials said.
The crash, which took place about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday along Harbor Boulevard between Vantage Point Drive and Pathfinder Road, was recorded by a dashboard camera in a video that quickly went viral after being uploaded to YouTube late Friday by user UlikeUC Here. By Saturday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 170,000 times.
As depicted in the video, titled, “Bizarre Accident,” a woman was at the wheel of a silver Hyundai Sonata heading downhill along the major thoroughfare when car suddenly came to a screeching halt. The driver exited the car and walked away casually, allowing the Hyundai to continue rolling out-of-control.
The Hyundai crossed over a center divider and into opposing traffic lanes, where it collided with an SUV. Another SUV then became caught up in the wreck as well before the driverless Hyundai continued to the side of the road and struck two trees along the sidewalk, according to Officer A. Stubblefield of the CHP’s Santa Fe Springs area office.
The drivers of the other two vehicles involved in the crash reported only minor injuries, officials said.
The driver of the Hyundai, 22-year-old Jasmine Lacey, of San Bernardino, was taken to an area hospital for “a non injury-related reason” before CHP officers arrived on scene, Stubblefield said.
“(Lacey) was later contacted and identified at St. Jude Medical Center facility and, after investigation of the traffic collision, was arrested for DUI,” he said.
But Lacey was released from custody early Saturday due to insufficient evidence to support a criminal complaint, according to Los Angeles County booking records.