Student Driver Loses Control, Kills His Wife
An early-morning driving lesson turned into a fatal accident Sunday when a motorist struck and killed his wife in a parking lot in Griffith Park, police said.
“I loved her and she loved me,” Jesus Herrera, a car wash attendant, said of his wife, Imelda Calderon. “It was an accident.”
Herrera, 54, and Calderon, 49, were in the park with three of their eight children to teach Herrera how to drive, police said. Herrera was at the wheel of the 1977 Mercury Cougar with his 30-year-old son beside him.
“I got nervous because the car started to build up speed, and I didn’t know whether to speed up or stop,” Herrera told police, explaining how he lost control of the car which struck a tree, then Calderon.
“It’s just one of those things,” said Sgt. Wayne Ridders. “I’ve seen people run over their children while backing out of a driveway. Accidents like this happen.”
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