Local woman recovering after being injured in reckless car crash
A local woman is recovering from a fractured neck and laceration to her head after crashing into a car that was driving recklessly on a busy street in Coachella Saturday night.
News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2’s Lauren Coronado spoke with the victim, who asked we didn’t identify her.
“I just didn’t have time to think about it. I (was) just hit. Then I heard a lot of people cheering,” the victim said.
Spectators, who were at a car meet hosted by The Desert Car Meets, captured video of the crash on Cesar Chavez in Coachella. You can hear people cheering after the cars collided.
The victim says she first dodged a black truck that was also doing donuts on Cesar Chavez, then the driver of an SUV also started doing donuts. Shortly after, the victim crashed into the SUV.
“And I just felt a lot of warm gushing out of me. I guess it was the blood from the side of my head,” she explained.
She says witnesses didn’t help her until they realized the extent of her injuries.
Isaiah Castro, the founder of The Desert Car Meets, says he doesn’t condone reckless driving at car meets.
“I was shocked. I was upset because I didn’t know that (the crash) happened. Now, we have a mother in the hospital, ’cause someone wanted to impress everyone and do a reckless stunt,” Castro said.
The man behind the wheel, who attempted the stunt is being identified by deputies as 23-year-old David Duarte, of Coachella. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies say he was arrested for reckless driving.
Castro says he would have put a stop to the donuts if he could and is calling the incident isolated.
“There’s no drinking or smoking at meets. It’s just people sharing the same passion,” Castro said, as he defended the reputation of car meets.
But the Coachella woman recovering from the crash says she wants car meets banned.
“If you want to do it, do it the right way. Go to the city and get your permit, do a car club, a little cruiser club,” the victim said.
Castro and other local car enthusiasts are now fundraising to help the victim and her family recover financially.
“We’re going to help out the family and my prayers go out to them. I hope she gets better soon,” Castro said.
Although the victim doesn’t think her story will help stop reckless drivers, she’s challenging the public to be part of the solution.
“Call the police immediately. If you see groups like that getting together, we call the cops. We don’t wait ’til they’re doing donuts in the middle of the road for 10 minutes. I mean, there must have been many cars who drove by and saw that. No one called the police,” she said.
Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department says they’re actively targeting reckless drivers and are urging people to call police if they witness dangerous driving.
If you’d like to donate to the victim’s family click here.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
