28-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Monterey Park crash that killed 3 – Pasadena Star News

Lina Portman3 days ago

5 2 minutes read

An SUV crashed into a tree early Friday, June 28, 2024, at East Graves Avenue and Cecil Street in Monterey Park, killing three people and injuring two others. (Key News Network video photo by Randy Dominguez)

A 28-year-old woman was behind bars Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence, which authorities said led to a crash in a residential neighborhood in Monterey Park that killed three people and injured her and her 7-year-old daughter.

Desiree Perez, of Monterey Park, was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence, child endangerment and three counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter in connection with the Friday morning crash, which happened shortly after 12:30 a.m. along Graves Avenue near Cecil Street, Monterey Park police Capt. Bill Cuevas said.

She was being held in jail on $500,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in Alhambra Superior Court on Monday, jail records show.

The five people in a Jeep Cherokee that Perez was driving were leaving a family home and heading toward the exit, Cuevas said, although the exact location they were headed is not known.

The Jeep was traveling westbound toward Garfield Avenue when the driver struck a curb, a tree, a wall and three cars in front of a house, Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said Friday. One of the deceased passengers was ejected and landed on the roof of the house.

While Perez and his daughter were wearing seat belts, the three people who died were not wearing safety equipment, Cuevas said Saturday. Perez and the girl were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Cuevas said Saturday that the girl was taken simply for observation.

Cuevas said one of the people who died was Perez's brother, but police have not released the identities of any of the people who died except that they were two men and a woman.

One of the men was identified Saturday by the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office as Alexander Cota Jr., 34. He died in a vehicle, according to the coroner's report.

The five people in the Jeep knew each other, but it was unclear whether they all lived together, Cuevas said.

The speed at which the Jeep was traveling before the accident was not yet known.

No one inside the home was injured, although one of the residents, Felix Lam, said Friday that the home's windows were open and smoke, dust and debris came in. inside.

CCTV footage showed the SUV was already rolling sideways and onto the sidewalk when it approached their home, Lam said. He hit their three cars – a Toyota Camry, a Prius and a Prius C – breaking the window of one, landing on another and destroying the third.