Fourth of July Weekend in 2020 Among the Deadliest
CALIFORNIA, USA (July 8, 2020) — There were 36 people killed and 738 drivers arrested for DUI statewide throughout California over this year’s Independence Day weekend.
While the number of deaths this year is the same as a year ago, the CHP’s Maximum Enforcement Period was two days shorter this year or 54 hours compared to 102 hours a year ago. The 738 DUI arrests this year for two days is higher on average compared to the 1,317 arrests made for DUI driving over that longer 4-day enforcement period.
The California Highway Patrol began their maximum enforcement period at 6:01 p.m. on Friday, July 3rd and ended it at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 5th this year.
Last year, just 589 DUI arrests were made and a dozen people were killed in crashes between the night of July 3 and the morning of July 5.
The California Highway Patrol made hundreds of DUI arrests even as state officials discouraged holiday travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 25% of the motor vehicle occupants who died in crashes this year were not wearing seat belts, police said.
Here is a look at a few of the fatal collisions that took place over the holiday weekend:
California Fatal Crashes on Fourth of July 2020
BAKERSFIELD
One man was killed and Eli Valdovinos Jr. 31, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving on July 4. The pickup truck driven by Valdovinos overturned on Highway 178 and both men were ejected as they were not wearing seat belts. The man who died has not been identified publicly.
The California Highway Patrol made 26 DUI arrests in the Bakersfield area during its “maximum enforcement period” throughout the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
LOS ANGELES
Victor Torres Carrillo, 26, of Inglewood, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on July 4th in Lennox. The victim tripped in the street after lighting a firework and was struck by the vehicle on 105th Street about 9:30 p.m. The suspect was driving a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro.
Jasmine Gomez, 19, of Baldwin Park, who died on July 4th after crashing head-on into a big rig truck in Irwindale.
TULARE COUNTY
A 27-year-old Ivanhoe woman is dead and two others injured after an Independence Day crash on Highway 65 in Porterville.
ORANGE COUNTY
- A pedestrian died Saturday in a hit-and-run collision in Santa Ana. The suspected hit-and-run driver, identified as Jonathan Padilla, 20, of Santa Ana, was later arrested following the fatal accident in the 2400 block of South Fairview Street.
- Kim Lieng Dao, 76, of Fountain Valley, was struck and killed about 8:11 p.m. on Saturday, July 4th in a collision at Euclid Street and Edinger Avenue in Fountain Valley. One of the two drivers involved fled the scene.
- Mary Fong Lau Arrested for Fatal Bus Stop Crash in San Francisco - March 18, 2024
- Eslyn Vazquez Victorville Pedestrian Accident Amargosa Road - March 18, 2024
- Newcastle Pedestrian Accident Lozanos Road Near Ophir Elementary School - March 18, 2024