By now you’ve likely read of the tragic vehicle accident on the southbound 5 freeway early on Monday Morning. Nineteen year old Saugus grad Chelsea Arcos allegedly struck and killed two individuals changing a tire on a car parked on the shoulder of Southbound 5 freeway near Magic Mountain. On Wednesday, she was charged in a San Fernando valley court with gross vehicular manslaughter, fleeing the scene of an accident, drunken driving causing great bodily injury or death, driving with a suspended license, and driving under the influence while under age 21.
Arcos faces over 13 years in prison if convicted.
This story has certainly become the talk of the town; in particular Arcos’ alleged actions after the accident occurred. She reportedly dragged one of the deceased victims over 150 feet down the freeway, and did not stop driving until she reached the Valencia Blvd off-ramp, more than a mile from the accident scene.
After the accident, Arcos told people that her father would help her out since he was a police officer, according to prosecutors.
Even when I was in high school over ten years ago, teachers, administrators, police, and health officials stressed the dangers of drunk driving. However, in the mid 1990s, students didn’t have the revealing opportunity to simulate driving drunk in the “Every 15 Minutes” program; rather most of us were treated to scenes from “Faces of Death” or similar shocking videos.
“Every Fifteen Minutes” and similar programs allow students to drive a modified vehicle or computer simulation. As students approach obstacles in the road, the car or computer automatically delay their reactions, so as to simulate effects of driving drunk. In addition, every 15 minutes, a student is called out from class and pronounced dead to enhance the effect.
A search of the Hart District’s website indicates Valencia High School has participated in this program for several years. I could not find any internet information on programs Saugus High participates in, but that's not the issue.
Chelsea Arcos was old enough to know the dangers of drunk driving. Since MADD in the late 1970s, an all out assault on driving while intoxicated has been undertaken by the state and federal authorities, sheriffs and police agencies, schools and health institutions. The message has been in the classroom aimed at teens for at least a decade, if not longer. Arcos graduated from Saugus in 2005, and likely participated in such high-tech, interactive programs.
Yet, if the allegations are proven true, Chelsea Arcos was not even adult enough to be driving sober, let alone drunk. Her license was suspended for unknown reasons. Had she simply let it expire, or did she have enough points against her from previous citations that it was suspended by the state?
Moreover, initial reports indicate that she was returning from a party in Frasier Park late on Sunday evening. Either she willfully ignored the dangers of driving while under the influence on that 45 minute trip down the twisting Grapevine or she simply lacked the judgment of an adult after she left the party.
Finally, there are her alleged actions after the accident. Prosecutors say that she drove over one mile south on the 5 after the impact, and when confronted by her friends after she stopped, indicated that her father would "help her out."
It’s hard to know what to make of this story. Was she so drunk she was completely irrational and panicked about running over two stranded motorists? Was she trying to escape the scene of the accident? Did she really think her dad could get her out of this? Had her father pulled some strings before in her defense? Why was she allowed to drive with a suspended license in the first place?
Whatever this trial reveals, I hope this incident serves to remind local teens about the lessons adults have attempted to pound into their heads since they were old enough to lust for a driver’s license. In an instant, a 27 year old father of four and a 35 year old woman were killed on the 5 Freeway. Two lives wasted, a family shattered, and a 19 year old girl with her whole life in front of her staring at 13 years in state prison.
UPDATE: 9-24-2006 Click Here to read an update to this story
A tragedy on Interstate 5
A tragedy on Interstate 5
Attributed to Jeff Wilson (editor-supplied)
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