A pregnant woman is fighting for her life after an unlicensed driver, suspected of driving under the influence, collided with her car on a San Diego freeway Sunday, Escondido Police said.
Police responded to the crash at Broadway and State Route 78 in Escondido, about 33 miles north of Downtown San Diego, at approximately 2:05 a.m. Sunday.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Jose Uriostegui, was driving a black 2005 Ford F150 eastbound on Highway 78 at Broadway when it collided with a grey 2013 Nissan Altima heading northbound on Broadway, according to witness statements and physical evidence police gathered at the scene.
The driver of the Altima, 27-year-old Lucrecia Vasquez, is six months pregnant and now "fighting for her life," a spokesman at Palomar Medical Center said. She was transported to the center with serious, life-threatening injuries, police said. A second passenger in the Altima, a 24-year-old woman, was also taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
"I went over to the car, I lifted the airbags. There was a lady...She was yelling 'Oh I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant,'" a witness who called 911 and helped catch Uriostegui said.
Uriostegui tried to flee the scene of the crash on foot and was detained by the Good Samaritans, who held him until police arrived. Uriostegui was treated for minor injuries at the scene and arrested.
"James catches him, wraps him up, grabs him and we drag him back out onto the street until police get here," one of the Good Samaritans explained.
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Uriostegui was charged with felony DUI, felony hit-and-run and driving without a driver's license. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and is being held on $1 million bail. He is expected to appear in court for an arraignment Tuesday.
The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or have additional information to call officer Mike Nelson at (760) 839-4407.
“We are seeking the public's help in looking for any witnesses or anybody who may have seen pre-impact, so before the two vehicles collided, or saw the actual collision," Lieutenant Mike Kearny said.
