Alleged Drunk Driver Hits Car; 1 Dead

A 16-year-old Santee youth died after the car he was driving was hit by an alleged drunk-driver at Redwood Avenue and First Street in El Cajon, authorities said.

Wesley E. Branson died of multiple injuries at the scene of the 12:30 a.m. accident, a coroner’s deputy said. Branson, a junior at Chaparral High School, was driving with Clinton Hoy, 17, in a Ford Mustang when the car was struck by a Chevy Camaro, forcing the Mustang into a utility pole, the coroner’s deputy said.

The driver of the Camaro, Paulin S. Gallardo, 20, of El Cajon, fled the scene immediately after the accident, said Sgt. L. Wood of the El Cajon Police Department. A witness saw Gallardo climb into a truck at First Street and Washington Street and later gave police the license number and description of the truck, Wood said.

At 1:40 a.m., an El Cajon officer on an unrelated call spotted the truck and arrested Gallardo and two others with him, Wood said. Gallardo was booked for manslaughter, felony hit and run, drunk driving and also for carrying fake identification. The two people arrested with Gallardo were charged and released in connection with the crime, Wood said.

Hoy was ejected from the Mustang and taken by LifeFlight to UCSD Medical Center where he remains in intensive care, authorities said.