28-01-2025
Wife of Bakersfield Christmas Parade victim killed in Tehachapi accident
Candace Lorraine Rios, wife of Arnold Rios, who was severely injured by an alleged drunken driver before the 2023 Bakersfield Christmas Parade, was killed in an accident Wednesday, attorneys for the family confirmed Monday.
According to the Kern County Sheriff's Office, Rios, 72 was struck by a vehicle while walking on the northbound side of Highway 202 just north of Cummings Valley Road in Tehachapi at 9:24 p.m. Wednesday.
Rios was taken to Kern Medical, where she was pronounced deceased from her injuries the next day, KCSO said in an incident report.
Jorge Barrientos, spokesperson for the law firm Chain, Cohn, Clark, confirmed to The Californian the Candace Rios in the report was Arnold Rios' wife.
Chain, Cohn, Clark is representing the Rios family in its civil case against 72-year-old Alan Lewis Booth, who is suspected of being drunk and crashing his F-150 truck into a crowd of people minutes before the 2023 Bakersfield Christmas Parade.
Barrientos said the family is not giving comment at this time.
