12 people injured, 1 person dead after car crashes into a Pomona taco stand
Twelve people were injured and one person died after a driver crashed into a taco stand in Pomona.
According to the authorities, a driver crashed into food vendors near Dudley Street and Holt Avenue at around 7:45 p.m.
The driver was reportedly traveling eastbound down Holt Avenue when the vehicle veered into westbound lanes, colliding with the taco stand.
"The vehicle's driver fled the scene and officers began actively searching for her," police said. "More than an hour later, the suspect returned to the scene and turned herself in."
Police said the driver was a 25-year-old woman, Diana Beatriz Martinez-Umana is from Pomona. On Tuesday she was charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, two counts of hit-and-run resulting in serious death or injury and eight counts of reckless driving causing injury.
The person who was killed in the crash has been identified as 52-year-old Gilberto Cazares Payan, according the coroner's office.
Payan, originally from Sinaloa, Mexico, leaves behind his wife and a family of four children. He was picking up dinner for the family when the collision occurred.
Three victims are in critical condition according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The other victims are in an unknown condition.
"It looked like it was going pretty fast," said witness Evan Navarro. "The food cart was destroyed."
According to witnesses, cars routinely speed down the intersection.
Police are trying to determine if the driver was under the influence at the time of the crash.
A memorial for Payan consisting of flowers and candles could be seen at the spot of the fatal collision Saturday evening.
