Attorney Aaron Hicks

Orange County Trial Lawyer Association President, and Founder of Hicks Law Firm Aaron Hicks said:

“My heart goes out to each of the young athletes and their families affected by this senseless crash. No one should suffer physical, emotional, and financial hardship because someone allegedly chose to drive impaired. At a time like this, it’s critical to focus on recovery and accountability, and our community must work together to prevent tragedies like this in the future.”

Palafox is an Anaheim resident while the students who were among the crash victims were identified as male and female and ranging in age from 16 to 17 years old.

Three were hospitalized along with Palafox who was arrested on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of both alcohol and drugs however Sutter could only confirm that the male driver is injured and was taken to the hospital.

According to the DMV website, the illegal alcohol limit for DUI charges is 0.08% or higher for drivers 21 years old and older and 0.01% for drivers under 21 years old.

“It has not been confirmed but it’s something we’re looking into,” Sutter said. “In any major crash like this we do a DUI investigation regardless. There are some objective signs that indicate he was under the influence but we’re still trying to figure that out.”

Officials said that at the time they were hit by Palafox in his Toyota Corolla, the students, who are on the cross country track team, were standing on the sidewalk corner waiting for the red traffic light to turn so they could continue their afternoon practice run.

Sutter added that the driver’s sedan is being impounded and secured.

“We’re going to get a search warrant to search that car and for a number of reasons…to get the onboard computer to determine speed and other factors like that and also to see what’s inside the car,” he said.

*Photo credit: The image of the car was created using Google Image FX