HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A driver who, police said, struck several people outside a cafe in downtown Hollywood before she fled the scene has surrendered to authorities.
Forty-five-year-old Shana Soto faces over a dozen charges, including DUI and reckless driving, in connection to the Nov. 2 crash.
According to Hollywood Police, the suspect careened into the outdoor dining area of the Chi-ca Cuba Cafe along 20th Avenue, just south of Hollywood Boulevard.
The crash occurred after a fire truck was responding to an alarm call.
Surveillance video showed an SUV plowing into the sidewalk, leaving an alarming scene: screams for help, toppled tables and firefighters trying to help the injured.
Four people were taken to the hospital, including a woman who suffered severe injuries to her legs.
Rosemary Villaran, a friend of that victim, said her friend had been at a table in front of the cafe when the out-of-control SUV jumped the sidewalk.
“The car don’t stop, my friend was sitting in front of me, so the table went down. She went down with the chair, and the car crashed her, and she was under the car,” said Villaran.
Jason Hadley, the owner of the Bang Shack, located next to Chi-ca, said he had just walked away from the table that was hit.
“I was just talking with those patrons. I was just talking with them, with my neighbors,” he said. “I had my back turned to that direction. I thought someone had kicked my sign or something, so I came out to see what happened, and that’s when I saw.”
Police believe Soto turned right onto 20th Avenue, turned to the path of the fire truck but overcorrected, driving onto the sidewalk.
Villaran said the victim had just came back from a trip from Peru, and the injuries she suffered led her to lose the lower part of her legs.
Tuesday afternoon, Soto turned herself in to Hollywood Police.
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