LAPD creates GoFundMe to help victims in South LA DUI crash
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Police Department is helping victims recover days after a suspected DUI driver slammed into multiple parked cars, causing one passenger to be thrown 80 feet.
Dramatic video shows a white sedan crashing into several parked cars in the area of Central Avenue and 33rd Street in South L.A. on Sunday. The impact is so powerful, it crashes into cars on the other side of the street.
The man who was thrown from one of the vehicles suffered severe injuries to his face.
Police later arrested the 30-year-old driver, Wilfredo Vaquiz Escobar, of Los Angeles, saying he was intoxicated at the time of the early morning crash.
RELATED: Parked cars smashed in LA, passenger thrown 80 feet
Police say a Honda Accord driven by Escobar with six passengers inside was traveling 80-100 mph when he lost control, and spun out.
Now, some people at the LAPD are doing what they can to help the car owners who can't afford to pay for some of the repairs.
"Badge of Heart has created a GoFundMe account to help the victims of these parked cars, which were actually a total loss," said LAPD Detective Moses Castle.
One of the cars belongs to Kimberly Morales. She came out of her home when she heard the loud crash, and now the damage is impacting her daily life.
"Every morning I have to drop off my son to his babysitter, and it's giving me trouble because I'm car-less now, at this point," she said.
Escobar fled the scene on foot the night of the crash, police say, but he was later arrested a few hours later at his residence. Castle said he hopes others will learn from the suspect's mistake.
"The more we tell this story, we hope that people will learn that these types of crimes are 100 percent preventable," Castle said. "There are other ways of transportation and some of these families here do not have the ability to pay for full coverage insurance."
One of the victims said she remembers her parents saving up for the van that was hit, which was bought five months ago. She hopes the donations will help her family and others who were affected.
If you'd like to make a donation, visit gofundme.com/DUIdriverslamsinto6cars.
