S/O to old people shouldn't drive

[mexicali]

This one is fatal:

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) -- Police now say the driver who killed a mother and her two young daughters in a horrific head-on collision in Hollywood Wednesday was driving on a suspended license.

Solomon Mathenge, 74, of Lawndale was driving north on Highland Avenue across Willoughby Avenue at 7:20 a.m. when he veered into oncoming traffic and hit a minivan carrying 27-year-old Saida Juana Mendez-Bernardino of Los Angeles and her daughters, Stephanie Cruz, 4, and Hilda Cruz, 6.

The impact of the collision sent the minivan into a light pole.



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"It sounded like an explosion at first," said witness Steve Livingston, who was a few blocks away when he heard the crash occur.

"I was an EMT in Arizona so I've seen accidents," he said.

"This one -- just by judging what I saw of the van -- I knew there was going to be some very unfortunate news today for someone's family."

LAPD officers said 4-year-old Stephanie Cruz died immediately.

Mendez-Bernardino had been driving her oldest daughter to school at Melrose Elementary.

She died at the scene.

The girls died a short time later at a hospital.

Mathenge remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Police sources said Mathenge's license was suspended for failure to appear in court on a traffic citation.

His driving record included citations for speeding and talking on a cellphone.

Mathenge has not been charged.

[basilosaurus]

How awful. This is the type of thing we should be sharing with our old relatives. My grandmother would be devastated if she had caused that type of accident. She's the type of person who would be persuaded more by thinking of the harm she could cause someone else vs the threat to her own safety.

[Deleted]

Evidently, neither should 32 year olds.

www2.turnto10.com/news/2012/aug/30/police-woman-who-drove-building-was-texting-ar-1155592/

WESTERLY, R.I. --
A woman who police said was texting crashed the car she was driving into a building in Westerly.

Police said 32-year-old Elizabeth Martin was texting when she crashed into the old Blue Mitten thrift store at the corner of Union and Main streets.

"Within a matter of about three seconds, I just saw the lady keep going straight into the old brick building that was there. There was no turn at all," one man said.

Witnesses also said Martin almost struck children walking through the intersection before hitting the building.

Since the law prohibiting texting while driving went into effect in 2009, 575 citations have been issued to drivers as of June 30. In Westerly, only four have been issued.

The lot that housed the old Blue Mitten thrift store will be leveled and paved. The new store, which is located a few 100 feet down the road, is in a much safer place.

"It almost became a racetrack to try to get around the corner before the oncoming traffic got here," said Janet Kitchen, president of Blue Mitten.

Martin was issued a citation for texting while driving. NBC 10's attempts to reach her for comment went unsuccessful.

[ttt]

But he needs to get places! He can't give up his independence!

[heyjude]

Is this really an old people shouldn't drive situation though?

[Deleted]

I'm not sure this is necessarily an old person shouldn't drive situation - we don't really know that his age had anything to do with it - based on his previous citations, he may just have been a bad driver.