OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A man was struck and killed while crossing a road in Oceanside Monday morning and then carried by the vehicle for several blocks before it finally came to a stop.
The driver, Stacy Sanchez, was later arrested on drunken driving charges at her home.
The collision occurred at about 6:20 a.m. in the 4000 block of Mission Avenue, near the Old Mission Montessori School.
According to Oceanside police, the victim landed on the driver’s windshield and somehow became wedged there. Witnesses told officers that the driver, however, did not immediately stop, but continued with the victim still on the windshield.
Police said the car went up on a sidewalk, through landscaping and continued until it finally came to a stop in the 100 block of Magdalena Drive. Witnesses said, at that point, the driver exited the vehicle and walked away.
Responding paramedics and officers pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene. Officers found his shoes, keys wallet, identification and pants in the street, as well as part of the car’s windshield.
The victim was a known transient in the area. Officers believe he was walking to or from Brother Benno, a soup kitchen in the 3200 block of Production Avenue.
Oceanside police said they made contact with Sanchez after she left the scene. They questioned her at her home. She reportedly told police she had been drinking overnight at several bars and was on her way home this morning when the crash occurred. Her home was located a few blocks from where she abandoned the car. After being questioned, she was taken into custody.
The victim was not immediately identified.
Mission Avenue was temporarily closed from Rancho Del Oro to Magdalena Drive.
