The 26-year-old driver in a Jan. 17 crash that left her and a passenger seriously injured reportedly has a history of driving under the influence, according to Menlo Park police.
Carina Sandoval, a Redwood City resident, has been charged with driving under the influence while on DUI probation and driving on a license suspended for DUI, as well as with cruelty to a child and driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury, police said.
Ms. Sandoval and her passenger, a 26-year-old man from Burlingame, were hurt in a two-vehicle accident at Bayfront Expressway and Chrysler Drive around 8:30 p.m. Friday (Jan. 17).
A 16-month-old child who was riding in a car seat in Ms. Sandoval’s vehicle was treated and released from the hospital to family members, according to the police.
The man and woman were trapped inside a 1994 tan Honda Accord and extricated by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. They were taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Ms. Sandoval remains in custody of the police at the hospital and upon release will be booked into San Mateo County jail, according to police.
The occupants of the second vehicle, a blue 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe, were not hurt.
Police have not yet released names. Witnesses can call 330-6300 or the anonymous tip line at 330-6395.
At this point, shouldn’t this driver lose her license? She’s clearly on the path to killing someone and it’s a miracle she hasn’t already.
She was driving on a suspended license. If her license were permanently removed, this driver would still drive without license because she’s determined to prove a point. I’m trying to figure out what point is she trying to make? Is it trying to defy the odds and properly operate a vehicle while intoxicated or is she trying to see how long she can drive drunk before killing someone?
It’s clear that there should be strict laws and higher penalties for convicted DUI drivers, fist time offense or not. We should not have to worry about drunken drivers on our streets.
Losing a license won’t stop her. A previous DUI didn’t stop her, and DUIs are very expensive. Having her precious child in the car didn’t stop her. She needs some serious help before she makes worse things happen.
This recidivist drunken driver needs to be put in jail for a looooooong time.
But our jails are overflowing and we are releasing nonviolent offenders. Would this count as nonviolent?
Don’t Let the driver EVER EVER EVER DRIVE a CAR!!!!
It is sick.
How do we stop her? sure, we could take away that child for his/her own safety, but that does not stop her from potentially killing other people’s children in the future. We do not jail someone for something they have not done (yet), and her current crimes are probably not serious enough to keep her in jail. It appears that she views legal steps taken against her to date to be just so much finger-wagging, not to be taken seriously.
There is a lot about this case we do not know yet, like, even how far over the DUI limit was she? It does not look good, but we would need more information before passing judgement.
Remember though: Society should not be in the punishment business, and we should not punish her. We do have the right, though, to protect ourselves from those who might harm us, especially those with a proven propensity for harming others. What does it take to truly stop her before she hurts someone, or do we need to wait for her to do that?