SAN BERNARDINO, California — A 39-year-old pregnant mother of 8 was just feet from the curb after crossing a street in San Bernardino, California, when a black Dodge Charger ran a red light and slammed into her, according to the police department.
The impact threw Maribel Gonzalez, who had been crossing with the light in a marked crosswalk, 150 feet down the street, killing her, also, her unborn child, San Bernardino police told the station.
The driver in the hit-and-run at 11:35 p.m. July 11 kept going until she crashed into a fence. Her Dodge Charger caught fire after that, police said. She bailed out and caught a ride with someone who came to pick her up, police said.
On Monday, investigators arrested Mercedes Vanesa Guevara, 31, in Corona, California, on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, reported the Los Angeles Times. Sheโs being held instead of $200,000 bail, according to the publication.
Guevara had been on the run since the fatal crash.ย However, an โextensiveโ searchย was conductedย for her by the investigators.
โOur traffic officers and the other people assigned to this case, including the apprehension team, worked almost around the clock since this collision occurred six days ago,โ Lt. Mike Madden of the San Bernardino Police Department said.
The mother of the woman killed in the crash told the local news her daughter was due to give birth later in July. Maria Silva said her daughter, who was living nearby with her boyfriend, may have been crossing the street to buy something at a convenience store.
On Tuesday, Silva told that she felt sorry for Guevaraโs family.
โItโs like the pain I have of losing my daughter,โ she said.
The man that had picked up Guevara after the crash is still being looked for by the police, reported The San Bernardino Sun.