Photo: Joel Giovanni Andalon
A Santa Ana man who allegedly caused a traffic collision that killed an unborn child was arrested six days later.
The collision took place in the area of First and Lacy shortly before 9:46am on Friday, June 26, 2020. The original news release from the Santa Ana Police Department stated that the suspect driver, now identified as 27-year-old Joel Giovanni Andalon, had fled the scene prior to police arrival. He was taken into custody at about 12:15pm on Thursday, July 2nd.vehicular manslaughter
Preliminary investigation of the collision showed that one vehicle, which was traveling east on First, was struck by the westbound and speeding suspect vehicle while the first vehicle was making a left turn onto Lacy.
The collision caused injuries for three people in the first vehicle, who were all given medical attention at the scene and then transported to a local hospital for further treatment. One of the female victims was eight months pregnant and rushed to emergency surgery. During the surgery, her unborn child was “pronounced deceased as a direct result of the collision,” according to the release.
Andalon was placed in custody at Santa Ana Jail on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run.
“Traffic Investigators are releasing video of the crash in hopes that the driver of the white van (seen in the video) will contact them with additional information, as they are believed to have witnessed the collision,” according to the release. The video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/Hbun1bjcY0I
Anyone who can share information about this incident can contact Investigator Cpl. Carrillo at (714) 245-8208 or the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at (714) 245-8200.
