Oakland teen charged with crashing car and killing 73-year-old woman in front of her family
The victim, who'd recently moved to California from Thailand, was killed in front of her daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter.
OAKLAND — A 19-year-old Oakland man has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed a 73-year-old woman as she crossed the street with family members, court records show.
Christopher Perez was charged with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident. At a Feb. 15 arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and was given conditions for his release on $95,000 bail, including a requirement he wear a GPS ankle monitor, court records show.
The victim, 73-year-old Santu Maya, had moved to the Bay Area from Thailand just four months earlier. She was walking in a crosswalk at Foothill Boulevard and Vickburg Avenue in Oakland, on the evening of Aug. 18, 2023, when a Mercedes-Benz crashed into her, police said.
Maya’s daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter witnessed the crash. She was hospitalized and died later that day, authorities said.
Police tracked the Mercedes, in part thanks to surveillance cameras in the area, and identified Perez as a suspect. He was charged in January and is next due in court April 4, records show.