An alcohol-related collision sent a 7-year-old Hollister
resident to the hospital with major injuries and another Hollister
resident with two prior drunk driving convictions and a revoked
license to jail Sunday.
An alcohol-related collision sent a 7-year-old Hollister resident to the hospital with major injuries and another Hollister resident with two prior drunk driving convictions and a revoked license to jail Sunday.
Hollister resident Gerardo Quintana Gasca, 38, was driving his 1992 Ford Explorer in the 749 Seventh St. around 1:45 p.m. when he struck a 7-year-old boy riding a bicycle without a helmet in the middle of the road.
After the accident occurred the boy’s mother, Leticia Granados, and his aunt and uncle put him in the back seat of their car and were attempting to take him to the hospital when they saw a fire truck approaching and flagged it down, said Capt. Leo Alvarez of the Hollister Fire Department.
“They stopped the vehicle and brought him out of the back seat and we treated him at West and Seventh streets,” Alvarez said.
AMR medical aid responded and the boy was given immediate medical assistance and fitted with full spinal precautions, and transported to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, said Hollister Fire Chief Bill Garringer.
He was then air-lifted to San Jose Medical Center via CALSTAR, Garringer said.
The boy suffered abrasions to his entire body, chest injuries and bleeding to the head and ear, said Hollister Police Capt. Richard Vasquez.
As of Tuesday morning, the boy was in stable condition and was expected to survive his injuries, he said.
Through investigation, officers determined Gasca was under the influence through field sobriety tests and arrested him for felony DUI and driving with a revoked license.
Gasca had his license revoked from two prior convictions; the last recorded arrest in San Benito County was in October of 1992, according to the jail.
He was transported Sunday afternoon to the San Benito County Jail, where he was booked in lieu of $50,000.
Gasca bailed out with the aid of a bail bondsman around 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to the jail.
The case, which is still under investigation, will be forwarded to the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office for charging and prosecution, Vasquez said.
Because this is Gasca’s third DUI and it involves serious injuries, the penalties could be substantial, Vasquez said.
“Obviously, the felony makes it more severe and the fact that he hit a 7-year-old on a bike,” he said. “All that will be taken into consideration.”
It was the second accident involving an alleged intoxicated driver and a bicyclist in Hollister in a week. Hollister resident Thomas Hollis was struck by while riding his bike on McCloskey road around 9 p.m. on May 31 by an alleged drunk driver.
