State Senator Vows to Make Coronado Bridge Safer After Deadly Crash

SAN DIEGO - Flanked by law enforcement officials and community activists, a state senator vowed Tuesday to make improving safety on the Coronado Bridge a top priority in the wake of a suspected DUI crash that killed four people last weekend.

"We're all still in shock over the events of this past Saturday," Sen. Ben Hueso said at Chicano Park, where a pickup truck landed amid attendees of a popular motorcycle rally after vaulting off the landmark span over San Diego Harbor.

Hueso, D-San Diego, told reporters he and other local leaders intended to "ask for answers and look for solutions" to prevent a similar tragedy from ever occurring again.

The late-afternoon crash occurred when a Coronado-based Navy petty officer lost control of his GMC pickup while trying to merge from northbound Interstate 5 onto the bay bridge, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The vehicle plunged about 60 feet into the crowded park below, fatally injuring Annamarie Contreras, 50, and Cruz Contreras, 52, a married couple from Chandler, Arizona, along with Hacienda Heights residents Andre Banks, 49, and Francine Jimenez, 45. All four were pronounced dead at the scene.

The motorist, 24-year-old Richard Anthony Sepolio, is expected to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of felony driving while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter.

- City News Service / Image via @hawthorne_01 /Flickr