Suspected DUI Van Driver Crashes Into 2 15-Year-Olds Leaving Them Critical In Buena Park

BUENA PARK (CBS)  — Two 15-year-old boys are in critical condition Thursday evening after an out-of-control van slammed into them while they were walking on a Buena Park street earlier in the day.

One of the boys was reportedly pinned under the van for half hour.

The driver, Gilbert Armando Gonzales, 53, of Fountain Valley, was also taken to a hospital after the crash, which occurred about 3:45 p.m. on the southbound Beach Boulevard overpass of the Santa Ana (5) Freeway.

Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, said Buena Park police Sgt. Bill Kohanek.

Gonzales reportedly lost control of the 2003 Chevrolet Astro, which traveled about 50 yards along the sidewalk before slamming into the boys, Kohanek said.

Kohanek said firefighters had trouble raising the vehicle to free one of the boys. That victim was airlifted to a hospital. Both boys live in Buena Park, Kohanek said.

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