UPDATE: Family Establishes Funeral Account for Griselda Sandoval

Griselda Sandoval loved to dance.

And when she wasn't hostessing at , or studying for her child-development degree at Pierce College, she was raising her six-year-old son, Andres, as a single mother.

That all ended suddenly Monday evening when an SUV crossed into oncoming traffic on Parthenia Street west of Corbin Avenue crushing the Honda in which she was a passenger.

Her brother, Roberto, 18, was driving. He was helpless to save her.

The driver of the SUV, Valerie Stewart, 50, of Van Nuys, had a blood alcohol level of .22, nearly three times the legal limit, .

“My sister was going home to get her uniform for the next day and then onto my mom’s house,” Maricela Sandoval told Patch. “My sister was very happy. She loved to dance. She loved everything from salsa to Mexican dancing.”

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The Sandoval family has established a bank account to help defray funeral costs. Anyone can walk into a Chase Bank with cash or a check payable to Maricela Sandoval, account No. 475199464. Griselda Sandoval's name should be written somewhere on the check. Checks can also be sent to Chase Bank, 9055 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA 91324.

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Griselda Sandoval, 25, of Northridge, was a graduate of Cleveland High School in Reseda and had worked as a hostess at Mimi’s Café for the past five years.

“She was a good person and was loved by a lot of people,” Maricela said. “She was very loved at her job. She had regular customers she called her grandparents. Her life was taken away by a drunk driver. She got murdered … by a drunk driver.”

Maricela, one of six siblings, described her sister as fragile and petite. Maricela said her brother tried unsuccessfully to pull their sister from the car. A man at the scene tried to comfort the frantic teen.

Roberto is a senior at Cleveland High School and the youngest of the family. All of the Sandovals live in Northridge.

“I want everyone to know that my sister was not only a sister, but a friend, she was a mother … leaving behind a 6-year-old son due to the lack of responsibility of a drunk driver,” Maricela said. “We want justice for my sister. Innocent people are taken away from drunk drivers.”

Stewart was booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, according to police.

Stewart was driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Police said Sandoval and her brother "were traveling west on Parthenia Street west of Corbin Avenue when a second vehicle traveling east on Parthenia Street veered into the westbound lane and collided with their car."

Stewart's SUV came to rest against a masonry and iron fence, said Officer Karen Rayner of the LAPD's Media Relations Section. She was then arrested.

Stewart suffered only minor injuries, police said, including a "complaint of pain."

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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