Background: News footage of the scene of the crash on Feb. 6 (KTLA). Inset: Patty and Genry Ortiz (GoFundMe).
A California couple driving home from church with their daughter was killed after being hit by a driver suspected to be drunk.
Patty Ortiz and Genry Ortiz were driving home late Friday night after spending the evening with their 25-year-old daughter Erin Ortiz at the church they regularly attended. The parents never made it home, and Erin Ortiz was hospitalized with “life-altering injuries” after another vehicle struck theirs in an intersection. Police said a person arrested at the scene was suspected of being under the influence.
The family”s surviving son told local news outlets that he is “just trying to navigate emotions and make sure my sister’s okay.”
Eder David Ortiz, the son of Patty Ortiz and Genry Ortiz, told local ABC outlet KABC that his sister was “definitely in some pain. Her wrist is very hurt. I mean, really, her whole body, she can’t really move.” He similarly told local CW affiliate KTLA that she had suffered “a lot of fractures,” but noted that she was “doing better” than expected.
According to reporting by KABC, the Ortiz family was in one of three vehicles involved in the crash that took place at 11:15 p.m. on Friday. While in an intersection at Newhall Canyon Road and Bouquet Canyon Road in Santa Clarita, a Southern California city just north of Los Angeles, their vehicle was hit by the suspected drunk driver, who also allegedly hit a third vehicle that was waiting in the same intersection.
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The Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Office said one of the parents was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was taken to a hospital and died from their injuries. Erin Ortiz was hospitalized with “severe and life-altering injuries” that will require “extensive medical care, rehabilitation, and ongoing support,” according to a GoFundMe started by family friends.
Police said they conducted a breath test on the driver of the vehicle that allegedly caused the crash, and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. His name was not released.