More than $4,100 has been raised as of Monday morning to help the family of a grandmother and granddaughter killed when the car in which they were riding was hit by a suspected drugged driver and then a second vehicle in Mira Mesa.
The crashes that killed Lina Pelembergo Nebrida, 64, and 2-year-old Keira Magat, and severely injured two others in the same car, happened early Saturday on southbound Interstate 15 near Scripps Poway Parkway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The victims were in the process of moving from Temecula to National City at the time.
Keira, her 5-year-old sister and their grandmother were riding in the back of a Honda sedan driven by the girls’ mother, Jasmin Magat. Their car was struck from behind by a Cadillac CTS, whose driver left the scene, and then was rear-ended by a Toyota Tacoma pickup.
Grant Thoren, 31, identified as the driver of the Cadillac, was arrested on suspicion of murder, drugged driving and hit-and-run at his residence in Vista several hours after the crash, authorities said.
Funeral plans for Keira and her grandmother are pending. Friends of the family are working to raise $10,000 via a GoFundMe page, to help with the survivors’ medical expenses and other financial needs.
—City News Service