Woman in coma, fights for life after hit in alleged DUI crash by teen in Lamborghini
A South Valley couple was heading back home after enjoying a date together late Saturday night in Visalia when a suspected drunk driver in a Lamborghini allegedly blew threw a red light and smashed into their vehicle.
Now Stephane Rodriguez, a passenger in the vehicle that was struck, is fighting for her life.
According to a gofundme page for Rodriguez, the 26-year-old Corcoran native was put in a medically induced coma after suffering severe brain trauma from the accident.
She remains in critical condition.
“Stephane is near and dear to everyone around her,” wrote Sarah Rubalcava, who set up Rodriguez’s gofundme page. “She’s such a joy to be around. She is definitely the ‘life of the party’ wherever she is.
“Due to this, she is now missing work and will need money to help her financially to pay her bills, so we are asking for any donations.”
Friends and family took to social media to share Rodriguez’s gofundme page and express their frustration.
In addition to Rodriguez’s fragile health, boyfriend Alonzo Prado of Visalia suffered broken ribs and a broken arm.
“This was the a**hole who caused the accident, and just walked away with back pain,” read a caption that accompanied a photo of the smashed Lamborghini, which was tweeted out by Yolanda Terrazas, a friend of Rodriguez. Terrazas’ posting ended up getting retweeted 2,500 times.
“I am so upset and hurt right now,” Terrazas tweeted. “Since the day I met her, she was always so kind and so fun to be around. My heart hurts. I can’t believe it.”
A cousin of the boyfriend, Prado, expressed anger in his tweet.
“F*** the driver and f*** that car,” Diego Cortez tweeted, which generated nearly 3,000 likes on Twitter. “My cousin and his gf were in the other vehicle heading home, but now she’s in critical condition fighting for her life because of someone else’s stupid decision.
“Please keep them in your prayers and hope she recovers.”
Mark Anthony Verdugo, the driver of the Lamborghini, remained in jail as of Wednesday night, with his bail set at $235,000.
Verdugo, 18, was arrested on suspicion of DUI, a felony warrant, vehicular manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm (police found a .45 caliber pistol in the Lamborghini).
WSOC-TV, a television station in Charlotte, N.C., reported in 2017 that Verdugo was arrested when he was 16 years old when the local sheriff’s office seized 32 pounds of marijuana, three handguns and more than $11,000 from a home.
Verdugo was arrested then for three felony counts, including trafficking marijuana.
This story was originally published June 20, 2019 at 11:56 AM.