According to a police report, a southern California woman hit a pedestrian in Torrance on Saturday. She drove the dying victim more than two miles from the point of the accident, with the victim stuck in the windshield of her car. She did that on her way home after coming from work. It is suspected that she was drunk.
Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt told that the victim died a few hours later at the hospital.
51-year-old Sherri Wilkins of Torrance apparently panicked when she hit the man. The accident occurred at 11:25 p.m. Saturday on Torrance Boulevard near Madrid Avenue.
Watt said, “He is literally embedded in her hood and into the windshield; she knew he was somehow embedded into her car but she panicked.” He also said, “This is just another tragic reminder that impaired driving is drunk driving and fatal crashes can happen if someone is driving while intoxicated”.
Police said that Sherri Wilkins hit the man when she was driving her Mitsubishi Eclipse west on Torrance Boulevard. Instead of stopping, she took a right turn on Crenshaw Boulevard and kept driving until concerned citizens flooded around her car at 182nd Street and told her to stop because a man was stuck in the windshield of her car.
Police identified the victim as Phillip Moreno, 31, of Torrance. He was able to speak to paramedics but died at the hospital later. Police officers believe that the victim was crossing Torrance Boulevard when the car hit him; nobody was present at the site when the accident happened so there are no witnesses. However, police are asking anyone who might have witnessed the initial accident to come forward by calling at 310-618-5557.
Police officers have no idea how fast Wilkins was driving the car when she hit Moreno.
The results of Wilkins’ breath tests were not disclosed by the traffic investigators but they said that her blood-alcohol level was approximately double the legal limit.
Sherri Wilkins was arrested at the scene and locked in Torrance jail on the suspicion of drunken driving. She was charged for manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and drunk driving.
According to the records of County Court, this is not the first time Wilkins has dealt with combined DUI and hit-and-run-charges. Wilkins was charged on July 16, 2010 for driving under the influence of a controlled substance and running from the scene of an accident after causing property damage. The disposition of that case was not made available immediately.
Since this is a second time for Wilkins, it seems like Wilkins will not get much leniency this time. She did not face any charges in the last case which was ultimately dropped. However, it is possible that she’ll plead guilty in the hopes of a lesser sentence this time.
The legal limit for blood alcohol content is 0.08 percent in most states. So whenever you get behind the wheel after drinking, you run the risk of putting yourself and other drivers on the road in danger and being arrested for DUI. Always find a designated driver if you’ve had a few drinks to avoid drunk driving.
If you are arrested for drunken driving, it is a good idea to get legal assistance by hiring a DUI defense attorney who may be able to have the charges against you reduced or dismissed altogether.
