Who:
Marcela Pacheco Garciaguirre, 23, from Irvine, was killed in Costa Mesa, California, just after 10 PM on Saturday, May 31st, 2014, close to the northbound I-405 Freeway off ramp and Harbor Boulevard. She drove a 2013 Kia Optima and her passenger was also injured. She was killed by Brandon Anthony Alvarez, 22, from Anaheim, who drove a 2012 Nissan Titan.
How:
Per police reports, Alvarez hit and drove away from a collision he caused at around 10 PM at Date Place and Harbor Boulevard. The driver he hit suffered minor injuries. Alvarez drove until he then crashed into the driver’s side of Marcela’s Optima, which was leaving an I-405 off-ramp. Marcela died at the scene, while her passenger, a 26-year-old man from Irvine, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Alvarez tried to flee the second crash on foot, but was apprehended and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. He faces DUI, vehicular manslaughter, and hit and run charges, and was released on $100,000 bail the following day. At least one dozen beer cans were found scattered along the highway from Alvarez’s vehicle.
Why:
This is yet another sad case of drunk driving and speeding, which together claim tens of thousands of lives in the US each year. Each is implicated in 1/3 of all auto deaths in the country, and they certainly overlap in many cases, such as here.
The 2013 Optima weighs 3297 lbs and comes with a “good” IIHS side score with an “acceptable” structural score. It was impacted by a 2012 Titan that weighs 4768 lbs.
Given the likely speeds of the collision (~65 mph), the collision likely imparted at least 913KJ of energy into the Optima / Titan. The standard side impact test simulates 143KJ of energy (a 3300-lb sled impacting a vehicle at 31 mph). In other words, the Optima faced 638% of the force it would have experienced in the types of crashes cars are side rated for. It is sadly understandable that the victim succumbed to these forces. The fact that her passenger survived is surprising, as in severe car side impacts I’ve studied where the driver dies, the front passenger, if there is one, usually dies as well. Alvarez, who experienced a frontal vs a side collision, was far more likely to survive the collision, especially given the mass of his vehicle, and did.
This was ultimately a wholly preventable tragedy. The collision that led to the fatality occurred because an individual repeatedly chose to break the law while behind the wheels of a 2.5 ton missile. It is yet another indication of how much of a problem drunk driving is in our society, as is the issue of heavy vehicles in the hands of irresponsible citizens. Day after day, loved ones are witnesses to how many lives are lost, and lives forever changed.
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