17-02-2025
‘Aunt, I hit someone!': Reports detail crash that killed Bakersfield boy, 8
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Almost every day when she takes her lunch break, Judith Deval drives from her job at California Safety Training Corporation to Beale Park.
As she headed there on the afternoon of Oct. 16, she came to a complete stop at the intersection of Bank Street and Holtby Road. Roosevelt Elementary School had let out; students and parents were walking in the area.
Deval stayed put until families cleared the intersection, then proceeded forward.
That's when the child 'came out of nowhere,' Deval told police.
She didn't see the boy until he was in front of her car — then she felt a 'bump,' according to her statement to police contained in recently released court documents. She stopped and got out, but accidentally put her Toyota Camry in reverse instead of park. It backed over the boy.
The child, Ricardo Aguilar, 8, died from his injuries the next day.
Deval's attorney, Kyle J. Humphrey, calls what happened a 'tragic, terrible accident.' Prosecutors call it a crime.
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Deval, 40, was charged this month with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after an investigation determined she was holding her cellphone while driving — a practice that has been illegal in California since 2008. She has pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled in May.
An officer at the crash scene asked Deval if she'd been on her phone. She said no, according to the reports.
A witness, however, said he saw the Toyota stopped at the intersection, the driver's side window rolled halfway down. He said Deval had a cellphone pressed to her left ear.
Questioned further on whether she had used her phone, Deval again said no, but couldn't remember if she'd been holding it.
Later during the questioning, she said she remembered returning a call from her aunt, according to the documents. But she couldn't recall if she held the phone or was using Bluetooth, the reports say.
An analysis of the phone revealed it had been in handheld mode, the reports say.
Police contacted the aunt. She confirmed she was on the phone with Deval when the crash occurred.
She said the call didn't last long. Deval told her she was on speakerphone, the aunt said.
They were talking about a personal matter when Deval yelled, 'Aunt, I hit someone!' the aunt told police. She said she thought Deval meant she hit a vehicle. The call then disconnected.
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