Driver who injured 9 in a California sidewalk crash guilty of hit-and-run but not DUI

A driver who plowed into a crowd on a Southern California sidewalk in 2019, injuring nine people, has been convicted of hit-and-run crimes

FULLERTON, California — A driver who plowed into a crowd on a Southern California sidewalk in 2019, injuring nine people, was convicted of hit-and-run crimes Thursday, but jurors deadlocked on charges of driving under the influence of drugs.

A mistrial was granted on the drunken driving charge in the trial of 27-year-old Christopher Solis, the Orange County Register reported. Solis said he was relieved by the annulment, the newspaper reported.

“I have a wife. I have a child. I was scared,” he said, adding: “This whole thing has been emotional. I think about the victims every day.”

The Anaheim man was behind the wheel of a Toyota Tacoma in February 2019 when the pickup jumped a curb in Fullerton, hitting people and then crashing into a palm tree. The bars had just let out and there were hundreds of people on the sidewalks, the Register said.

Several victims were trapped under the truck until bystanders lifted and freed the pickup. Some were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Solis was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Authorities said he had marijuana and another drug in his system. But the defense argued the crash was an accident.

Attorney Alan Spears said Solis was trying to escape some people chasing him and was trying to get around some illegally parked vehicles when someone hit his truck, causing Solis to lose control and drive onto the sidewalk, the Register reported.

Jurors convicted him of hit-and-run causing injury, hit-and-run causing property damage and drug possession.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately indicate whether it would retry Solis on the DUI charge.