Torrance DUI suspect drives with pedestrian on car's hood

TORRANCE, Calif.

Phillip Moreno, 31, had just left a bar around 11:30 p.m. when he was struck Saturday as he crossed the street at Torrance Boulevard and Madrid Avenue.

Police said the man ended up on the hood of the car and partly through the windshield. The driver carried him for blocks before stopping near Crenshaw Boulevard and 182nd Street, where witnesses waved the suspect's car down after seeing the body on the car.

Moreno was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The driver, identified as 51-year-old Sherri Wilkins of Torrance, was arrested for driving under the influence and manslaughter. She was being held on $100,000 bail.

"Her blood-alcohol level on a preliminary screening device was more than twice the legal limit, so she was intoxicated," said Torrance Police Sgt. Robert Watt.

One person who did not want to be identified said Wilkins is his drug and alcohol counselor at Twin Town Treatment Center in Torrance.

In a strange twist, Wilkins apparently is also a counselor to one of her alleged victim's family members.

In 2010, Wilkins was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence of a controlled substance. According to court records, the charges were dismissed or not prosecuted.

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