A Bakersfield family is distraught over the loss of a 13-year-old boy and his dog. The California Highway Patrol says both were hit and killed by a drunk driver Sunday night.
The family of Israel Chavez Medina says the boy was being pulled by his German Shepard, Bella, on his scooter around 9:40 p.m. CHP officers say Medina was headed westbound in the eastbound lanes of Virgina Avenue. They say that's when 25-year-old Dennis Ozaeta hit the boy and his dog and kept going. The dog died at the scene, and Medina died a short time later at Kern Medical Center.
Medina's uncle, Gabriel Lucio, drove from Oxnard to be with family when he got the news. "You know, we never thought it would be one of us," said Lucio. "It just has to stop. Its just too many people grabbing a cold drink and getting behind the wheel and it destroyed our family. It's just a shame that someone cut his life short."
Officers found Ozaeta at his home after the crash. He was placed under arrest for DUI and hit and run. The collision report shows he had his two children, ages 4 and 3, in the backseat of his car at the time of the crash.
The CHP says everything is still under investigation so there is a chance more charges could be coming.
On Monday, Medina's family and friends returned to the intersection of Larry Street and Virginia Avenue in east Bakersfield where the crash happened for a tearful vigil.
