Mother, Daughter Leaving Church Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver In Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- A suspected drunk driver traveling at a high rate of speed lost control of his vehicle and smashed into another car in Santa Clara Thursday night, killing an elderly woman and her daughter who had just left a church service.
The Santa Clara County coroner's office identified the victims as 61-year-old Carina Bontilao Kubow and her mother, 92-year-old Angela Vilbar Bontilao, both of San Jose.
ALSO READ: Watsonville Man With Multiple DUI Convictions Guilty Of Drunk Driving For 13th Time
Two other women in the car, also family members, were hurt but suffered only moderate injuries.
The California Highway Patrol said the suspect, 26-year-old Sunnyvale resident Vinod Bonthu, was being treated at Valley Medical Center for major injuries.
The four women had just left a late-night service at Our Lady of Peace Church in Santa Clara at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday and were traveling west on Great America Parkway. According to the CHP, Bonthu was driving a red 2012 Mercedes C-250 at a high rate of speed while exiting northbound U.S. Highway 101 at Great America Parkway.
Bonthu lost control of his car and crossed over the center median, hitting a Subaru Forester with the four women inside, according to CHP San Jose Officer Ross Lee.
Bonthu has not been formally booked, but is under arrest for felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter, Lee said.