The Antelope Valley Times

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Updated: Motorcyclist dies after head-on collision with alleged drunk driver

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UPDATED at 6:45 p.m. 4/25/12: Marie Delores Hidalgo pleaded no contest to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for the head-on collision that killed Timothy Howard McKelvey, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s office told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Hidalgo was reportedly given credit for six days.

Updated at 4:30 p.m. 4/23/12: The victim has been identified as Timothy Howard McKelvey, 54, of Lancaster, according to the Los Angeles County Coroners Office.

LANCASTER – A 54-year old man was killed early this morning after his motorcycle collided head on with an alleged drunk driver who was travelling on the wrong side of the road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The alleged drunk driver, 40-year-old Marie Delores Hidalgo of Lancaster, then fled the scene on foot, but was captured and arrested for felony driving under the influence of alcohol, according to authorities.

The collision happened around 2:40 a.m. on 50th Street East, south of Avenue I in Lancaster.

According to the CHP report, Hidalgo, while under the influence of alcohol, was driving a Honda Civic south on 50th Street East at approximately 50 to 55 miles per hour. She was driving in the northbound lane on the wrong side of the road, the report states.

Hidalgo’s vehicle collided head on with a 1980 Harley Davidson Motorcycle that was going north on 50th Street East, south of Avenue I.

The driver of the motorcycle was a 54-year-old man who died at the scene, said Antelope Valley CHP spokesman Gilberto Hernandez.

Hernandez said Hidalgo was not at the scene when officers arrived, but officers found her after canvassing the area. They found her in the vicinity of 40th Street East, just north of Avenue J, the report stated.

“She[Hidalgo] met the description that the witnesses put out, she had abrasions to her face, and she admitted to having been in a vehicle involved in a collision,” said Hernandez. “She said she didn’t know what she had hit, but our questioning led us to believe that she was the driver of that vehicle.”

Hernandez said Hidalgo was given a field sobriety test at Antelope Valley Hospital and was determined to be under the influence of alcohol. She was arrested for felony driving under the influence, he said. Hernandez said he could not release Hidalgo’s blood alcohol level because the matter was still under investigation.

Hernandez said the roadway was shut down around Avenue I and 50th Street East from about 3 a.m. to approximately 8 a.m. this morning.

This is the fourth person to die from an alleged DUI crash on Lancaster roadways this year.

On February 26, Beau Josh Owen Fluker, 26, and Jeffrey Gilstrap, 23, were killed after a suspected drunken driver crashed into their vehicle on Avenue J and 20th Street West in Lancaster. The driver, Tommie Lee Cole, 24, was charged with two counts of murder and the case is pending.

On March 13, Angelica Goins-Jones was killed after colliding with a suspected drunken driver in the intersection of 10th Street West and Avenue L in Lancaster. The driver, Jodi Biers, 28, was charged with murder and the case is pending.

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

64 comments for "Updated: Motorcyclist dies after head-on collision with alleged drunk driver"

  1. certainly like your website but you need to check the spelling on several of your posts.
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  2. I am so sick of the people who stand by our out of control,biased, and corrupt judicial system. I feel like I’m an alien from another world when I speakout against another miscarriage of justice. Every day, in this country, deals are made behind closed doors for a select few of the population that are either innocent, and still get convicted, and usually recieve sentences that far exceed the crime; and then there are those monsterous crimes committed by RAPISTS, PEDOPHILES, AND MURDERERS SUCH AS THIS WOMEN WHO GET A SLAP ON THE WRIST!! Who are these corrupt individuals working in this system that has the POWER to impact a society of trust in judgement and fairness of the law abiding citizens they are sworn to protect. JUST AS SOCIETY BLAMES THE BREAKING DOWN OF THE FAMILY UNIT AS AN EXCUSE FOR ANY NUMBER OF TOPICS OR PROBLEMS WE FIND IN THIS COUNTRY EACH DAY.IT IS OUR OWN JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT HAS BROKEN DOWN AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE SAD SOCIETY WE FIND OURSELVES IN. Go ahead call me names, I’ve heard them all, “YOU’RE UNAMERICAN” or “ANTI-AMERICAN” I’ve even heard “You shouldn’t speakout like that, are you a terrorist?” PLEASE! THE LAST TIME I CHECKED THE JUDICIAL ASSHOLES HAVE NOT CHANGED OUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. NOT UNTIL MORE PEOPLE EXERCISE THIS RIGHT IN AN INTELLIGENT MANNER TO CHANGE THE INSTITUTION THAT WILL BE TO BLAME FOR THE FALL OF THIS COUNTRY. WE HAVE TO BE THE CHECK AND BALANCE FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY BECAUSE THE OTHER TWO BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT ARE JUST AS CORRUPT AND BROKEN. Maybe I am an alien from another world, or has the world changed so bad, and so much that it is the world that is alien. If your responce to this message is going to be “well our judicail system may not be perfect, but it’s the best one in all the world!” or even worst, “well if you don’t like it here, you can always get out and live somewhere else!” then don’t waste your time typing it out. Just mosey on down with the rest of the herd and quietly take your place while the cattle ranchers running this country lead us all to the slaughterhouse! 4 YEARS FOR MURDER!? OUT IN 2?! MR. DA YOU SHOULD BE SENTENCED TO MORE FOR THE CRIME OF GROSS MISCARRIAGE OF YOUR DUTIES!

    • I agree the DA’s office makes deals with attorneys all the time. People represented by Public Defenders are really at their mercy.
      I witnessed a woman DA, we’ll call Ms.C, put a Raggedy Ann doll in a chair facing the jury, to represent a 16 yr old white girl that wasn’t present in the court room. The DA said she had to be in school. That girl was not at school. She was home schooled after being kicked out of every school in the area for her behavior. The Raggety Ann doll was put in a chair next to the grandmother, who for some unknown reason was suddenly in a wheelchair looking old and frail. Outside the courtroom, she walked around like nothing was wrong with her.
      By the way, the family who made the accusations against this black man were all members of Lancaster Baptist Church. At the time I didn’t understand the significance. It was all a show to get the jury to believe the lies they were being told to convict a black man. I felt that I witnessed a Mississippi lynching that day.
      The justice system in the AV is corrupt to say the least.

  3. my deepest condolences to the family for their lose. may god be with you in your time of morning.

  4. man so sad to hear this!!! only knew him for a short time but he was a good solid person! i was itroduced to him as “cousin tim” thats what my husbands uncle calls him and he was a god person who didnt need to leave his earth yet!! he offered me kind words of advice during a time that i was dealing with a lot and he was a joker to the fullest with tall tales that believed a few times because he was so convincing he was to good of a person to die that way and i cannot believe they would only sentence someone to four years for MURDER! because thats what it was i dont care how it happened if yo take another mans life from them then you killed that person and it upsets me beause if it was a cop that ad been killed by a drunk driver she would be doing a lot more than four years!!! R.I.P. cousin tim!!!!

    • My good friend was his on again off again girlfriend and she is simply devastated by the loss. You’re right .. only 4 years for murder. Are you kidding me?! If she had shot him with a gun and killed him, she would have gotten a lot more than that. So what’s the difference, she still killed him!! Shame on our justice system!

  5. mrs hidalgo isa drunk,she should be in jail 20 yrs & life.are district attorney office & there mouth peace sandi gibbons did a plea bargan 4 yts,state ,she will serive only 1.5 yrs, steve cooley & sandi gibbons both should be in jail,i hope all the good people of ca,make sure these two never run for any office in the state of ca again,

  6. Wow, only 4 years for destroying a family and killing a man. So why is the other 2 drunk drivers not being offer pleas as well. I feel like something is not adding up here. Seems like there wanting to push this case under the rug.

    • To the McKelvey family , From the bottom of my heart I am so sorry for you loss, my words cant express how horrible I feel from the moment I found out what marie did all I could think about is the pain and suffering your family must be going through .I will keep you in in my thoughts and prayers always , even though marie is my sister in law i feel there is no excuse for what she did and I cant believe that 4 years is all she was sentenced to I strongly believe that SOMETHING has to be done to change these so called laws when it comes to drunk drivers peoples lives are being destroyed and all they get is a slap on the wrist how is that ok ?

    • they were probably given the same offer but if they profess their innocence then its taken off the table.

  7. Doesn”t make since…FYI I am the “witness” they are referring to and I was only about a hundred yards behind the biker when the “accident” occured.I saw the bike in front of me before the crash and he was in the northbound lane as I was.Yes its true that it was 2:30am,and yes it was the “middle of nowhere”..SO WHAT ! We are full grown adults and can be anywhere we damn well want to at anytime we damn well want to.Mabe she swerved into his lane at the last second and he didn”t have a chance to avoid someone IN HIS LANE!! She fled the scene of an accident because she was drunk and she knew it. Her car was to damaged to drive an both her airbags were deployed too.It took 15 minutes for anyone to arrive so I had plenty of time alone out there and let me tell you its something that will be with me for the rest of my days.There is no excuse for driving drunk…Period.

    • Greg I am so sorry you will need to live with this the rest of your life. This is truly the case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. My husband went through what you have a few years ago with his brother but the outcome was a whole lot better, his brother survived and the woman that hit him was not drunk! Please do not hold your feeling inside and talk to someone, anyone, everyone and I hope you will be able to move on. Thank you for being there the time you were to get help. I know Tim is in his way thanks you too.

      • Thank you for the kind words.They mean alot. In the past few days I have come to find out that some friends of mine were also friends of Tims. And every one of them had only good things to say about him.One of them led me to this site and encouraged me to set the record straight after he read some of the comments.Thanks again Lancer.RIP Tim.And to his family and friends all I can say is “Time Heals”.

    • I thank you for being there. Please feel free to contact me via email if you would like to attend Tim’s memorial.This is far from over.Thank you very much.

  8. Being a member of the victim Tim McKelvey’s Family, I find it disrespectful that members of the Accused’s Family are using this as a means to hash out their family’s disfunction. The fact of the matter is that Marie Delores Hidalgo’s careless actions resulted in the life of my Husband’s Uncle. Please respect the Family’s grieving and healing process by not making this into a platform for the Accused.

    • I agree with you, and I am sorry for the role I played in disrespecting your family by lashing out on this page as well.
      Listen Corrine, I am so very sorry for your loss and I am hurting for you thinking about how you must feel when you read some of these comments. I didn’t know Tim McKelvey, but his death has profoundly affected me. I keep replaying what I believe to be the scenario of how the accident played out in my head and grieving as if he were my own family. So I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling.
      What angers me the most is that he did not have to die, he did not plan to die when he took to the road on his bike that day, and he SHOULD NOT have died. I just really hope it ends here, because I don’t think I could take hearing about another DUI death.
      Please accept my condolences for your beloved husband’s uncle. May he rest in peace. God bless you and your family and give you the strength to make it through this difficult time, as well…

      • @ S. Parker – Thank you for your condolences. Kind words, thoughts and prayers are what will get the Family through this.

  10. First of all coming from and growing up around motorcycle we have had just way too many times that our love ones have been hurt by someone that made a poor decision to either get behind the wheel or being just to stupid to know they were driving because they were drunk. Now we have to watch another part of our family go through the suffering of a stupid stupid persons action. Shame on you for doing this to you CHILDREN, shame on you for taking this man away from his! We are taught to forgive those who have caused pain and pray for them. I am sorry I can only pray for this loving man and pray he can rest in peace and I pray for the lives of the children. Ms. Hidalgo you will answer to a higher person someday and will need to explain to him if your stupid action was worth that final drink you took before you took so many lives! God help you!

  11. WELL SINCE THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED ON 7/1/2010 ANY ACCIDENT RELATED TO DUI WERE DEATH IS A RESULT WILL BE TRIED AS 2ND DEGREE MURDER EVEN IF IT IS A FIRST OFFENSE. A 2ND DEGREE MURDER CHARGE DOES CARRY A SENTENCE OF 15 YRS TO LIFE. PEOPLE WAKE THE HELL UP IF YOU ARE GOING TO DRINK DO NOT GET BEHIND THE WHEEL!!! I HEAR THIS ON A REGULAR BASIS FROM CLIENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED IN MY DUI CLASS WHERE I AM AN INSTRUCTOR. THIS ALL COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED LETS SEE IF CALIFORNIA LAW HANDLES THIS CASE AS IT SHOULD BE.

    PEOPLE THINK ABOUT IT A LIFE HAS BEEN LOST YOU CANT BRING THEM BACK BUT IF IT WAS YOUR FAMILY WOULDNT YOU WANT THE DRUNK DRIVER TO BE PUNISHED FOR THE CRIME THEY COMMITTED WHEN THEY CHOOSE TO DRINK AND DRIVE THAT TIME AND HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE. IM JUST SAYING…..PEOPLE TAKE DRUNK DRIVING WAY TO CASUAL AND THINK THIS WONT HAPPEN TO THEM AND WHEN IT DOES THE DRUNK DRIVER AND THE FAMILY OF THE DRUNK DRIVER ALL CRY “THEY DID NOT MEAN TO KILL OR HURT ANYONE, REALLY WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN YOUR RIGHT MIND YOU HAVE NO CONTROL THIS SHOULD NOT JUST BE ANOTHER ACCIDENT THAT SHOULD BE TREATED SO LIGHTLY..”

  12. First RIP Timothy Howard McKelvey..Im sorry that this could have happened the way it did. Its extremely upsetting. I feel for both families. There are so many unanswered questions that will remain unanswered through the duration of this mess. But i just want to know How/Why he didn’t move? I know if i was riding a harley and a car was driving in my lane I wouldnt stick around to find out why. I would be moving out of the way. I have been to the location where this has happened and there are NO hills, just a straight street. Why not move? was there something distracting him?? Was he drunk too? What was he doing out at almost 3 in the morning? Leaving a bar? Just questions Id like to know. She is at fault most definitely but why not move? Could it have been suicide? there was time..she was driving 50-55 on a long street. so why not dodge the civic? Everyone is going to point fingers at Marie. But She is NOT AN ILLEGAL ALIEN nor has she EVER had a DUI. So because she made ONE HUGE MISTAKE means she is a BAD person??? Come on PEOPLE think of all the crap you have done and stop pointing fingers. LOOK AT IT FROM BOTH SIDES. JUST SAYING. PLUS-witnesses?? IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?? YA RIGHT. WITNESSES AFTER THE FACT maybe but not for the accident. idk its just a mess. IM SORRY FOR THIS POOR MAN,HIS FAMILY, AND ALL THE KIDS THAT ARE IN THIS BAD SITUATION.. :(

    • Why didn’t the man on the Harley move out of the way?!?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW??
      How DARE you even hint that somehow this poor man could be at fault. HOW DARE YOU!!!
      This woman drove drunk and MURDERED someone’s son/brother/father, etc!! She is 1000% at fault! And then she left the scene to booth. She should be locked up and the keys should be buried underneath the casket of that poor man she KILLED!!
      You ought to be ASHAMED for even posting this nonsense!!!

      • ok dumb chick. so you wouldnt move out of the way??? wow then i guess you would die too.

        • and his autopsy will show if he was drunk too. being that it a murder trial the investigation will not be taken lightly.

        • You’re calling S. Parker “dumb” while you use the screen name “Doesn’t Make Since”…..

          I think it is YOU who is dumb!

          Look:

          It is spelled “SENSE” not “since”.

          Go back to school puta!

          • No actually I took the name as ironic. It doesn’t make sense for it to say ‘since’ which is ironic since it wouldn’t make sense.
            Does that make any sense?
            Doesn’t Make SENSE you got to spin it to win it.
            Should have left it and called it a PeeWee.
            Hu.. ut.. I meant to do that..

        • Clearly, you don’t ride, or have never been a rider. Just stop commenting until you gain a perspective on what its like ro avoid dip-stix such as yourself on the road. Just reading what you think makes me know you suck as a driver. Period. Idiot…

          • By the way, that was addressed to “Idiot SENCE”. You’re an embarrassment to your entire surname…

    • Doesn’t make “since”… you’re an idiot.

      (1) At 3am, perhaps the motorcyclist couldn’t tell if the person coming at him was in his lane, or the correct lane, until it was too late. You really can’t judge those things, in darkness, with headlights 1/4 mile away.

      (2) Maybe he DID move. Maybe the oncoming car swerved closer toward him after he already moved, at the last moment, leaving him no chance to correct.

      • I was about to say the say thing. I live even further out there, and can tell you ‘doesn’t make since’ you can’t tell if someone is in your line till the last min. Plus where was he going to go, the shoulder is dirt and at a slant. But you should know that, if you went out and took a look. Plus, don’t assume just because he was driving at that time he was leaving a bar or drunk himself. I work early in the morning and drive the roads out there at 4:00 am to get to work.

    • I’m wondering by your comments if you drive a motorcycle, and do you drive in Lancaster and at night where there are clearly no street lights. Why not move? If you have ever drove a motorcycle at night in the desert on a two lane road then you would not need to ask a stupid question like this! Have you ever drove a bike at 55 miles per hour off the side of the road where it is nothing but sand? And you are still alive? Come on if someone is coming at you on your side of the road what would you do? And because a person is out at 3am did you not think that maybe this man worked nights and was going home? It’s sad that you make the comments you have about this person. And then you give your whole CSI BS not knowing what the hell you are talking about and make a comment that you are sorry for this poor man and his family. Wow I am so sorry that the family has to see comments like yours.

  13. My condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Timothy Howard McKelvey .

    I really want to learn how to ride a motorcycle this summer but, I am afraid to here in the AV. We have alot of drunk drivers out here.

  14. The bottom line, she drank got into a vehicle, drove that vehicle, hit an innocent man, on a motorcycle, killed him, ran (like she didn’t see she hit a motorcycle, hello little bigger than a dog) tested drunk…..she should pay!….. But she will go to court, fight this, on tax payers dollars, while th mans family gets to lay him to rest!..’……….she made the bad choices, not”king rex”, nor the sheriffs dept. Her and her alone…….. Prayers to both families, for her selfish drunkin choices!

  15. This really saddens me, and pisses me off at the same time. I happen to unfortunately know the accused. She happens to be the biological mother of all my nieces and nephews, and while my only brother sits in jail fighting false charges of domestic violence because in one of her drucken rages, again in the middle of the night harassing my brother while he was trying to sleep, she called the police and accused him of striking her, and showing them a small cut inside her lower lip (which I believe to have been self inflicted)he now finds himself going to trial to prove his innocense, with the risk of getting some serious time, because he refused to take a plea bargain and wants to excercise his right to a trial. I know that the family of the victim does not want to hear anything from anyone related to this person that took away their loved one, but I would like to assure the family that my family in no way can do anything to change what has happened, and our prayers and condolances go out to all his loved ones left behind. This is something THAT DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN! #1) I have been telling my brother for the last 20 yrs. that he should leave her before he ends up in jail wondering why she put him there. #2)When I was in speaking terms with her, I repeatedly warned her to stop what she was doing, for the sake of her kids, and I also told her repeatedly that her dumb luck was some day going to run out. #3)I try never to question why GOD, let’s things happen, but I just can’t comprehend why an innocent man, who by the way is only a few yrs. older then I, had to be part of this tragedy. I pray that the family understands that just because this woman has our family name (which she just stained, whithout regard that now my nephews and nieces have to leave the place they have called home for the last 16 yrs. because it will be too detrimental, even dangerous for them to stay there in the community now that this —— has published their last name in the worse possible way.) We feel just as angry, confused, and upset about the ordeal and I PERSONALLY STAND BY THE VICTIMS FAMILY. My prayers go out to all of them.

    • IIt is a tragedy for all parties.I pray in some way many can learn
      from this experience. No doubt,the children,the relatives,the victims,
      the community and the family of humanity all are affected in situations
      like this.My condolence.

    • It seems like your family has been victimized by the selfish actions of this woman as well. I hope that your brother can use this latest stupid decision to help him in his case.
      Too bad someone had to die before this woman realized how many people she has been hurting with her foolish decisions. (Who knows if she has even realized it yet?)
      I pray for the poor innocent man riding his bike that didn’t have to die, and I pray for your poor innocent nieces and nephews that will be suffering now with two parents behind bars. Hopefully this is the wakeup call that this foolish woman needs…

    • I am extremly saddened by the events that have taken place. I am Marie Hidalgo’s cousin. Her actions have effected our family & the victims family tremendously. Our deepest sincere condolences go out to the family. I cannot fathom the pain they are going thru. I, in no way condone my cousins actions. I do know that she will pay the price for what she has done. It is heartbreaking that its taken something this severe for her to learn from her actions. I may not have been very close to Marie my whole life, but I know she had an amazing love for her family. She was a good person who unfortunately has made some bad decisions in her life. I highly doubt that the victims family gives a damn why ur brother is in jail. Your opinion of my cousin is not important to our family & I think OUR nieces & nephews would be embarrassed that u would feel the need to put their life & personal issue out there for all to see. Your comments about their mother is detrimental & if anything u shame them as well as our family with your need to be vindictive againt Marie for doing what she had to do to protect herself against your abusive brother. He has been beating on my cousin for years & he is getting what he deserves. If ur brother is innocent then why is he in jail? Marie’s mother (my godmother) has cried many times because she’s seen her daughter suffer from his drunken rages! So, please do not come out pointing fingers, both Marie & your brother have chosen to stay together & deal with each others own faults. Shame on ur for being so inconsiderate & insensitive to the victim, his family & ours. This isn’t about u getting brownie points from viewers & trying to play the pity card for your brother. It isn’t about me coming on her to defend my cousin. Its about a horrific & tragic accident on an innocent victim caused by a woman who made a bad choice. Marie will never be able to take this back & I know she is extremly sorry for the pain she has caused for all. No one can hate my cousin more then she hates herself right now. I pray that the victims family (in time) can possibly forgive her & if they don’t ever… I understand that too. I have cried hard for my families pain & I’ve cried for the pain my family member has caused. My family is so very sorry for this tragedy.

      • From a outsider looking in, Niesha if I was the victim family your comments would be more hurtful. Why did you family not get her out of this alleged abusive relationship? Why did not one get her help for her alcoholism? RHidalgo did not bring shame to your cousin children, their mother did but killing someone. You come down on RHidalgo for saying negative comments about your cousin for her children to see, yet you put negative about their father.

        • Lisa, I am sure u have more common sense to know that u cannot force someone to leave any relationship unless they want to. Just as her husband never walked away either. Despite the abuse, they continued to be together. Both, making the decision to do so. My cousin was drunk that morning, but it doesn’t make her a alcoholic. I agree there is extreme shame for what our nieces & nephews are enduring because their mother made a mistake. But they do not need to hear anyone bash their mother either. I did not bash their father… I stated facts. Marie didn’t intentionally siet out to kill anyone. The relationship between her & her husband is irrelevent. Furthermore, I highly doubt my comments were more hurtful. Until something like this happens to u & ur family… u wouldn’t know the confusion or pain we all suffer. One minute we r yelling at the t.v angry to see whose life was claimed by a drunk driver… the next were living it.

          • Some hard truth for you…she is an alcoholic. And yes, Marie did intentionally set out to kill someone, when she got behind the wheel drunk. She put her life as well as those on the road at risk. This poor man life’s was taken due to her stupidity. Let alone the fact she hit him, she left the scene. What kind of human being does that? She’s a mother, does she not realize that someone’s son was lying in the road dying because of her.
            They sentenced her to 4 years. Are you kidding me!!! This woman should spend the rest of her life rotting in prison, thinking about what she did.
            I feel so sad for the family who lost a loved one, where is the justice here?

      • first of all you dont even know me and my wife. I havent touched your cousin in over 7 years im the victim here I was falsely accused I sat in jail for 5 months and had to plead guilty to a felony I didnt commit in order to get released to attend my sons graduation. If not believe me I would still be sitting in jail cause I wasnt going to plead to a felony I didnt commit.And yes she was drunk when it happened. I tried to warn the court that she had a problem but they wouldnt listen to me.If the A.V. court would of only listened to me this tragedy would of never happened. Cause I would of been there to make sure she didnt drive.NOW LOOK WHAT HAPPENED an innocent man lost his life a mother is gone to prison left her children.Alot of lives have been ruined by poor judgement.My many condolonces go out to Tims family my prayers are with your family.But shame on you for not knowing the truth and facts

  16. True story, I was rear ended by a drunk woman. She was so impaired, I had to help her look for her insurance information. When I went into the glove box,I was over whelmed with the smell of alcohol. When the cop showed up, I told him that, I believed this woman was drunk. He told me to stop saying that. Luckily there were witnesses at the scene. He did not give her a field sobriety test neither. Most drunks maybe only get stopped one out of a hundred times driving drunk. This is sad, people need to be more responsible. The bars could help by having people turn in their keys at the bar and can only have them back if they are not totally impaired, They could also do BAT, if it’s suspected that they are over the legal limit. Just a thought.

  17. We need to put our foot down and demand the city regulates the bars more. A police officer can pull over a DUI and they can form check points, but a alcoholic will not change his ways just because there’s a check point, or receiving a DUI. They will go back to that bar, and the bar will serve him and watch him get into their car and drive off. Till the city starts to put there foot down and let the bars in town know they cannot keep serving people that are visibly drunk, it’s never going to change. After the police investigate this tragedy I’m assuming it will come out the drunk driver left from the Trap or the Lone Horn. I’m not saying this will be the magic answer that will fix drunk driving in our town, but I bet it will cut down on some.

    • Will someone please see that “The Trap” be destoyed & all the scum there go with it? Thanks in advance…

  18. 4 DUI’s in the past 4 months? This is pathetic, tragic, and senseless. Having lost my brother to a drunk driver in the 70s, countless friends over the years, and the recent death of my son’s friend Jeff, I don’t even want to be on the streets after dark anymore. Thankfully, those who get behind the wheel and kill someone are now charged with murder. However, that doesn’t help the families who are destroyed because some stranger (or a member of their family) decides to drive a car after drinking.

  19. Uncle Tim you will be missed. We are saddened that you’ve left us far too soon. Please watch over the Family. May you rest in peace. We love you Tim.

  20. Ace,Deputies in the AV do occasional bar checks. However I can imagine the time for that is limited with everything going on here. And of course the bar patrons would be crying “why aren’t they fighting the REAL CRIME? It will be interesting to see if Hidalgo is an unlicensed illegal with guys like Charlie Beck obstructing the impound laws.
    Aaron- I’m not sure how much Rex has to do with preventing DUI’s however, there are rumors that the city has cut funding to the Sheriffs traffic department. Hopefully this isn’t true. If it is, what most folks don’t realize is the same cops they complain about for issuing tickets, are the same cops that are looking for drunk drivers in between those tickets. We can’t have it both ways.
    The murders the past couple days can’t really be prevented. If a man decides to kill his woman, no amount of government or programs can prevent that. The only way a murder like the one on H7 can POSSIBLY be prevented, is for the cops to be aggressively stopping thugs, and occasionally arrest the thug before he gets to his target. But while doing that work,the libs will criticize the cop for his aggressive work. They want the thugs in jail, but whine when they see the thug bent over the cops hood. You can’t have it both ways folks.

  21. PEOPLE WAKE THE HELL UP!!!! I am typing so hard right now I could break my keyboard. How many more people must DIE before we realize NOT to get behind the wheel after drinking??? This is a senseless and completely avoidable death! This man was driving a Harley and never had a chance against a car driving on the wrong side of the road!!! One minute he’s riding his bike feeling the cool wind on his neck and the next minute he is gone! And all because somebody made the STUPID decision to think themselves capable of handling their liquor enough to drive!!! This man was 54 and probably had kids and grandkids. I just can’t with this…. you all have a good day!

    • I agree. I am so mad at this its pathetic. Like, are you really kidding me this has happened again out here? What is going on with Lancaster…ugh!

  22. I’m sick to my stomach with this …. Another mother/family getting that horrible visit from CHP. If she had a head injury then the hospital would have made sure she didn’t have a concussion. STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR DRUNK DRIVING!!!!

  23. Well according to King Rex the city of Lancaster is the safest city.
    Then how is he now responding to 3 DUI’S (4 Deaths), 3 Murders in just the past three months?
    Not safe to travel the streets of Lancaster late at night.
    Not safe to sit parked in your vehicle.

    Oh it must be The Blvd. that is the safest as long as you don’t have a run
    in with Caveman and get spray painted.

    Get to work King Rex you have a lot of explaining to do!!!!!

  24. It’s common for people to leave the scene of the accident in shock. It’s possible that she could have a concussion causing a loss of memory, extreme confusion and easily failing a field sobriety test. It says the Field Test was done at the hospital, I assume it was a breath, urine or blood test confirming her blood alcohol level? Who knows until more information is available, but no reason to imply she was an illegal alien.

  25. Hernandez said Hidalgo was not at the scene when officers arrived. Hit and run…felony! Why did she run? No insurance? How many DUI’s do you suppose Ms. Hidalgo has? Lots of unanswered questions. Sad.

    • SHE LEFT BECAUSE SHE IS A DUMB DRUNK [removed] IDIOT SHE IS NOT AN ILLEGAL AILIEN JUST A STRAIGHT [removed] UP BAD EXCUSE FOR HUMAN BEING.