The brother and sister died Sunday when they were hit by a vehicle on SR-18; their mother is in custody, reports NBC 7’s Allison Ash.
A woman who law enforcement said was driving the SUV that her two children were in before they hopped out and were killed by another driver on a Vista freeway was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) said the incident was reported Sunday evening when the children – a 10-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl – were struck by a Nissan Sentra on SR-78. According to CHP, the crash happened when a GMC Yukon pulled to the right shoulder of the freeway and the two children stepped out of the vehicle. A Nissan Sentra traveling eastbound on SR-78 struck the children.
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The driver of the Nissan, who was only identified as a 41-year-old woman from Vista, stayed at the scene.
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As the investigation progressed, the woman driving the Yukon was arrested in connection with the death. The driver, who officials identified as Sandra Ortiz, 33, of Vista, faces charges that include DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and child endangerment.
Both children were declared dead at the scene, CHP said.
The children's father, Miguel Aguilar, and an aunt told NBC 7 on Monday that Alan Gerardo Aguilar, 10, and Amy Monserrat Beltran, 16, were killed in the incident. They also said there were four other kids in the car when the pair died.
Aguilar said his family have been homeless but had been staying in hotels for awhile. They had been sleeping in the car — all eight of them — during the past week, however. Ortiz and the children were on their way to Sunset Park in San Marcos Sunday to sell bracelets to raise money to buy a present for Father's Day, when the incident happened. Later, they planned on heading to his mother's in Vista to shower and eat.
The grieving father got the terrible news on Sunday when the phone rang.
“As soon as she said this, my heart just dropped," Aguilar said.
The father told NBC 7 that he thinks the children were attempting to retrieve Alan's backpack and a suitcase flew off the roof of the car.
“I wish I could have been there," Aguilar said. "That way I could have done something. I would have been the one getting off — stop the traffic or something — instead of my children in the middle of traffic getting hit.”
Ortiz and Aguilar, who have been together for 13 years but were not legally married.
"She’s my wife in my heart," Aguilar said. "I love her to death. I hope that one day she sees this and knows that I do love her. And I don’t hold anything against her for the loss of our kids. It's not her fault."
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact CHP’s Oceanside-area office at 760-643-3400.
Ortiz is being held on $500,000 bail. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
NBC 7's Allison Ash contributed to this report — Ed.
