Driver Charged With Murder After Allegedly Dragging Man For 2 Miles
TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — The substance abuse counselor accused of driving drunk while a dying man was stuck on the hood of her car was charged with murder on Tuesday.
Sherri Lynn Wilkins, 51, of Torrance was charged with one count each of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, driving with a .08 percent or higher blood-alcohol content causing injury and leaving the scene of an accident.
Police said Wilkins slammed into 31-year-old Phillip Moreno around 11:25 p.m. Saturday while he crossed the street on Torrance Boulevard near Madrid Avenue.
The suspect reportedly continued to drive for two miles with the man on her car until bystanders forced her to stop.
Moreno was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Attorney Kevin Danesh said the victim's family is grateful to the witnesses who flagged down the suspect.
"They want to thank all the brave men and women that stopped Wilkins while she was driving in the streets," he said.
According to court records, Wilkins was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, and being under the influence of a controlled substance in 2010, but the case was either dismissed or not prosecuted.
Wilkins also has two prior burglary convictions and is a third-striker.
The suspect remains jailed on $2.25 million.
Wilkins, who is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 18, faces life in prison if convicted of the charges.
Meantime, hundreds of family and friends gathered in Torrance Tuesday night to mourn Moreno.
"It just boggles my mind how a woman could drive that far with his body on her windshield and not stop. She even drove by the street he lived on," said the victim's aunt, Dolores Jimenez.
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