OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) - A North County family is making an appeal for justice after a teenage college student was killed by a suspected DUI driver in a fiery crash last Friday.
The fiery scene unfolded just after 11 p.m. Friday along El Camino Real near Fire Mountain Drive in Oceanside.
Police say a southbound car crossed the median and hit a fire hydrant, before striking two northbound vehicles.
Inside a flipped-over white Jeep was Dalila Jebrail, 18, who had picked up a friend and was just minutes from home.
The friend was injured. Dalila would die at the scene. Not long after, her family would get a devastating visit from police.
“My mother was so sad and screaming … My heart feels heavy. I feel empty,” said her brother Dominic Jebrail.
Police say the driver of the southbound vehicle Is suspected of driving under the influence.
“It’s one of the most selfish things you can do … It’s taken an amazing person from this world” said Dominic.
Dominic calls her sister, who was just weeks shy of her 19th birthday, a loving and confident little sister.
“Very brave. No task she wouldn’t do. She had a strong moral compass as well,” said Dominic.
He says Dalila, an El Camino High graduate, was about to enter her second year at MiraCosta College, and she had big dreams.
‘She was going to go to community college for two years and then to UC Davis to become a veterinarian,” said Dominic.
Her dreams, and a young life, have been cut short by a suspected drunk driver.
Recently the District Attorney's office announced local DUIs had spiked, with this year's numbers set to exceed last year’s numbers. Dalila's family is now pleading for justice.
“He should faces the full justice that he deserves, and other people realizing the impact it could have on families. This should not happen,” said Dominic.
An Oceanside Police spokesperson says when the injured driver of the southbound vehicle is released from the hospital, he will be arrested on DUI-related charges.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help the Jebrail family with funeral expenses.
