A 27-year-old driver was facing the prospect of serious charges Thursday after being arrested on suspicion of being intoxicated when he hit and injured eight high school track athletes on an Anaheim sidewalk in the middle of the day.
The Anaheim High School students were waiting on the southwest corner of North Harbor Boulevard and North Street – less than a mile from their campus – for the light to change and continue their run at about 2:55 p.m. Wednesday when they were hit by a Toyota Corolla driven by local resident Anthony Alva-Palafox.
According to the preliminary investigation by the Anaheim Police Department, Alva-Pavalox was southbound on Harbor Boulevard at North Street facing a green light, when the orange Toyota he was driving veered off the road, onto the sidewalk, and struck eight of the runners as they stood on the southwest corner of the intersection, said Anaheim police Sgt. Matt Sutter.
Seven of the students were taken to a hospital with varying degrees of injuries, but none of them were life-threatening, Sutter said.
The students, who were accompanied by their coach when they were struck, included boys and girls between 16 and 17 years old. The coach was behind the students and was running up to them when the collision happened, the sergeant said.
Alva-Palafox was also injured in the crash and was taken to a hospital..
“He showed some degree of objective signs of intoxication,” Sutter said, adding there “was probable cause to believe Mr. Alva-Palafox was operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner due to his level of intoxication.”
Alva-Palafox was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he said.
“His level of intoxication and drug type will be determined later through blood analysis,” Sutter said.
The Toyota was impounded and a search warrant was being sought to check if there is any evidence inside, according to Sutter, who said speed and other unspecified factors contributed to the crash.