Dec. 17: In this photo provided by Mark Milutin, firefighters work on a victim at left after a driver suspected of being intoxicated hit a group of pedestrians and another car outside a church as a Christmas service ended in the Los Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach, Calif. (AP)
A 6-year-old boy whose mother was killed when a motorist ran a red light and slammed into a crowd outside a California church has also died from his injuries, authorities said Friday.
Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. David Smith said Samuel Gaza died late Thursday at a hospital.
A group of pedestrians on Wednesday night had just attended a student Christmas program at St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Bearch when the motorist sped around the other vehicles in a white Saturn sedan and plowed into the crowd before hitting another car head-on, police Lt. Shawn Freeman said.
The boy's mother, 36-year-old Martha Gaza of Torrance, died in the incident. Two others, Mary Anne Wilson, 81, and Saeko Matsumura, 87, also died.
Four children and eight adults, including the suspect and the other driver, suffered injuries including broken bones, abrasions and head trauma in the crash.
Margo Bronstein, 56, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter and was expected to make her first court appearance either Friday or Monday.
Authorities said they believed Bronstein had taken prescription drugs, but were awaiting the results of a toxicology test.
Officials said they do not have information linking her to any prior arrests or DUI-related incidents.
She had a perfect driving record but was restricted to driving a vehicle with hand-controlled brakes, an additional right-side mirror and adequate signaling device, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records.
The DMV had no record listing her as handicapped, however.
Friends and neighbors said she used crutches at times and a motorized wheelchair at longer distances, but they did not know why.
They said she is always friendly and deferential.
"She's very personable, very kind," Vanecia Wiley, a manager at the senior housing community where Bronstein lives, told the Los Angeles Times. "She doesn't want to be in anyone's way."
Dulce Mojarro, 34, met Bronstein two years ago at Disneyland and said the two would sometimes meet up at the park, which Bronstein loved.
"She is like one of those kids that never wanted to grow up," Mojarro told the Times. "I would tell her, 'You have that child in you like Peter Pan.'"
Alan Wells, who lives in the apartment building at the corner, heard the crash and ran outside.
"I saw people lying all over the street, and people in the crosswalk were screaming and yelling," he told the Daily Breeze.
One boy who was struck was flung across the intersection, ending up beneath an SUV's tire, according to witnesses.
"The car is on the little boy. And we finally rolled it off the little boy. He had a little tie on. It was scary. It looked like he was in heaven at that point," Michael Tovar told Fox affiliate KTTV.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source : http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/19/6-year-old-boy-dies-in-car-crash-that-killed-3-others-outside-california-church/
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