A 27-year-old man who was allegedly driving drunk when he veered off of an Anaheim street and crashed into a group of high school athletes on a training run Wednesday afternoon was identified by police Thursday, Dec. 11, as Anthony Alva-Palafox of Anaheim.
The athletes, members of Anaheim High School’s track team, were standing on the southwest corner of Harbor Boulevard and North Street waiting for the signal to turn when Alva-Palafox, driving southbound on Harbor in an orange Toyota Corolla, went up the sidewalk and hit eight teenagers before the car came to rest against a retaining wall outside a home about 2:55 p.m., according to police and reporting from the scene.
Seven of the students, all 16 or 17 years old, were hospitalized with various injuries, Anaheim Police Sgt. Matt Sutter said. Their coach was with them at the time of the crash.
As of Thursday afternoon, Dec. 11, five out of the seven had been released from the hospital, John Bautista, Anaheim Union High School District spokesperson, said. One of the students who remained hospitalized was in critical condition, according to Anaheim city spokesperson Mike Lyster, but none of the students’ injuries were life-threatening, Sutter said. The specific injuries were not disclosed.
Alva-Palafox was also taken to a hospital for injuries he suffered, Sutter said.
He was then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs and his car was impounded, with a search warrant pending.
Speed and other factors are still under investigation as possible factors in the crash, Sutter said.
