Mother Killed After Alleged Hit-And-Run Driver Crashes Into Cars In Front Of Long Beach City College
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A 47-year-old woman was killed after an alleged hit-and-run driver crashed into three cars in front of Long Beach City College Wednesday morning.
The collision happened around 11:15 a.m. at Carson Street and Clark Avenue, according to Sgt. Aaron Eaton of the Long Beach Police Department.
Authorities said the driver of a 1992 Lexus sedan was speeding down Carson on the wrong side of the road when he lost control of the car, ran up onto the median and smashed into three cars that were waiting to turn onto Clark.
Elane Logay, the driver of the first car that was struck, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors described the Santa Ana College professor as a hard-working mother of two daughters.
"She's a good mom. She's a good worker," said Sam Martinez.
The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Mario Palafox, was helped out of his car by a witness and fled onto the college campus.
Authorities immediately set up a perimeter and took Palafox into custody on suspicion of vehicular homicide, felony hit-and-run and being an unlicensed driver.
"He also had a traffic warrant for a previous citation where he had been issued a citation for driving without a driver's license," said Eaton.
The suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.
The investigation is ongoing.
