Woman trapped, killed in bedroom after car crashes into Moreno Valley home

ByRob McMillan and ABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Woman trapped, killed in bedroom after car crashes into IE home
A woman died after a vehicle crashed into her bedroom in a Moreno Valley home in Riverside County on Monday, officials say.

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman died after a vehicle crashed into her bedroom in a Moreno Valley home in Riverside County on Monday, officials say.

Investigators said the woman was sleeping in her bed when the car slammed into the house.

The incident happened shortly before 5:30 a.m. in the 16000 block of Lake Victoria Drive, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Firefighters first to arrive reported a black Ford Mustang GT inside of a structure and one person trapped underneath the vehicle. The woman, who was identified by family as 47-year-old Sophia Zapian, was declared dead at the scene.

Fire officials said the driver, the only person inside the car, was not injured. The mother of the driver spoke with Eyewitness News, saying her son suffered an epileptic seizure.

Investigators said the driver was traveling east on Superior Avenue and went right through a stop sign and directly into the bedroom of the home.

One of the major streets nearby was closed, and consequently a lot of the commuters cut through that neighborhood. Many said they wondered if that's what happened.

"People that work in the warehouses, they cut through... at times, yeah, pretty fast," said neighbor Francisco Lamas.

Dozens of family members were at the home, including the victim's cousin, Guadalupe Castro, who said she was "a beautiful person."

"She lived there with her sisters and my aunt. I can't image her being gone," Castro said, as she held back tears. "We'd seen her, they had a birthday party for one of her sisters and me and my dad came to it."

Investigators said the driver is cooperating with the investigation. They said at this point, they don't believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.

Officials from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office were investigating the cause of the crash.