Fullerton, Calif. — A driver who plowed into a crowd on a Southern California sidewalk in 2019, injuring nine people, was convicted Thursday of hit-and-run crimes, but jurors deadlocked on a charge of driving under the influence of drugs.
A mistrial was declared over the DUI charge in the trial of 27-year-old Christopher Solis, The Orange County Register reported . Solis said he was relieved by the mistrial decision, the paper reported.
“I have a wife. I have a kid. 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 truck jumped a curb in Fullerton, struck people and then crashed into a palm tree. 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 the pickup and pulled them free. Some were hospitalized with critical injuries.