Tragedy struck Mariposa Road in Hesperia when a head-on collision left three dead and one in critical condition. The incident occurred on Tuesday at 3:42 p.m., when authorities say Pavlo "Pablo" Padilla veered into oncoming traffic, slamming his Chevrolet Suburban into a Toyota Corolla. The crash claimed the lives of Pedro Valencia-Perez, 58, and passengers Jose Valencia-Saucedo, 22, and Rosa Saucedo-Negrete, 59, leaving one passenger, Francisco Valencia-Saucedo, 21, battling major injuries.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department released a statement detailing the harrowing events that unfolded, amidst an afternoon when families are typically safe at home, not imagining tragedy can strike at any moment. Preliminary investigations pointed to drugs and/or alcohol as contributing factors to this fatal event, and the 45-year-old Padilla has been charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony DUI causing injury/death.
Witnesses and anyone with information has been called to step forward and speak with Deputy F. Zavala, Deputy J. Deberg, or Sergeant B. Motley at the Hesperia Station. The thoroughfare remained shut for hours as the Hesperia Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) collected evidence in an effort to piece together how this calamity could have occurred on an otherwise commonplace Tuesday.
