Infant ‘Very Critical’ Following Crash; Police Investigate Father

A 4-month-old Corona boy was in “very critical” condition and three of his brothers and sisters remained hospitalized Monday, two days after their family’s pickup truck rolled over in a drainage ditch.

Eddie Castro suffered head trauma and internal injuries when the 1970 Toyota truck driven by his father rolled over alongside Chase Drive in the city’s agricultural belt, said Police Lt. Sam Spiegel.

He was in the pediatric intensive-care unit of Riverside General Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

His father, Rosario Castro, 33, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving but was released pending results of a blood-alcohol test, Spiegel said. He was treated for scrapes at Riverside General, where four of his children were admitted after the accident.

Cipriano, 3, suffered severe abrasions of the back, front, legs and buttocks and was listed in stable condition Monday night.

Rosaria, 5, suffered cuts and scrapes and was listed in stable condition, and her 8-year-old sister, Carmen, had suffered a concussion but was scheduled for release Monday night, the hospital spokeswoman said.

The children’s 27-year-old mother, Leticia, and 7-year-old sister, Veronica, were treated for minor injuries at Circle City Hospital in Corona, Spiegel said. Natisia Castro, 1, was not injured.

All eight family members were riding in the cab of the truck, Spiegel said, when it ran off the road Saturday evening. Three of the children, although under the age of 4, were not riding in child-safety seats, a violation of state law, he said.

Rosario Castro told police he had swerved to avoid an oncoming car.”We have not ruled out the possibility that that could have occurred,” Spiegel said.