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Court docs: Woman charged in fatal car crash ran light due to malfunctioning signal

Nicolas Peterson and Jonathan Deal August 16 2021
Posted at 2:18 PM, Aug 16, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-18 17:06:24-04

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A woman charged in a fatal crash that killed a 13-year-old boy earlier this year ran the light due to it malfunctioning, according to documents 23ABC received.

Cristina Moreno-Gonzalez waited for some time before making a left turn while the arrow signal was still red causing a fatal car crash, documents showed.

Police said she collided with a motorcycle going westbound in the intersection.. The driver of the motorcycle, Johnathan Deal, sustained major injuries, and his 13-year-old stepson Nicolas Peterson was killed.

According to court documents, Moreno-Gonzalez was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The City of Bakersfield had no comment on the case due to the potential for future litigation.

In the court documents, the Bakersfield police officer who responded to the crash said:

"I responded to the Brookside Market and employees allowed me to view video the surveilance video. The video was captured by a southwest-facing, exterior camera on the front of the business. The video's field of vision captures the entire intersection of Hageman Road and Coffee Road. The gas station's canopy obstructs the camera's view of the traffic signals; however i was able to determine the light cycle based on flow of traffic. It appeared all the lights were cycling properly, with the exception of the eastbound to northbound left turn signal."

The officer was also equipped with a body camera.

Several witnesses, according to court documents, also reported that the traffic signals were malfunctioning at the time of the crash. They also said some drivers turned while the light was red.

Moreno-Gonzalez was arrested on a warrant for vehicle manslaughter in July.