A Redondo Beach woman was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for allegedly plowing her car through a group of pedestrians who were crossing a street after attending a church Christmas concert, killing three women and a 6-year-old boy.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laura Priver denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the case against Margo Julie Bronstein, 56, who is charged with four felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one felony count of driving under the influence of a drug causing injury.
According to police, Bronstein ran a red light around 8 p.m. Dec. 17 and plowed into a group of pedestrians who had just attended a Christmas concert at St. James Catholic School and Parish near Pacific Coast Highway and Vincent Street in Redondo Beach.
The group was walking across PCH when they were struck by the white Saturn. The driver of the northbound car continued through the intersection, swerved into the southbound lanes and slammed into another vehicle — all while dragging 6-year-old Samuel Gaza, a kindergartener at the church school. He wound up pinned under a front tire of Bronstein’s car.
Also killed were Samuel’s mother, 36-year-old Martha Gaza, and Mary Wilson, 81, and Saeko Matsumura, 87, all of Torrance.
Police said a total of 11 pedestrians were struck — including the four who died — although the criminal complaint names a total of nine victims.
Bronstein acknowledged after the crash that she had taken two pills that afternoon — the pain medication Norco and the muscle relaxant Soma — with a small amount of bread and some water as she had the day before, according to Redondo Beach police Officer Joseph Rangel, who spoke with her.
Bronstein told police that she had taken the prescription drugs for about five years and didn’t feel side effects from them that night, according to the officer.
The officer said Bronstein had red eyes and slow responses and “appeared to be very confused” and sleepy, and that he formed the opinion that she was “impaired while driving.”
The officer testified that he was not able to give Bronstein a field sobriety test because she said she had birth defects to both legs, but said she subsequently had a blood test done. Bronstein made her first court appearance on a gurney and was in court in a wheelchair for her preliminary hearing.
Pharmacist Shilpa Bokil, who works at a Torrance pharmacy where Bronstein had her prescriptions filled, testified that each of the drugs can cause drowsiness.
Dr. Cyrus Rangan, who specializes in medical toxicology, said he would advise patients not to drive if they are taking both of the prescription drugs.
Michael Reed, who was turning right on Pacific Coast Highway, testified that he saw a white car go through a red traffic light while traveling at about 35 to 40 mph and saw people walking in a nearby crosswalk. He said he did not see the vehicle hit any pedestrians, but saw the aftermath.
“It wasn’t a pretty sight. There were bodies strewn everywhere. It was a lot of carnage,” Reed said.
Another motorist, Amado Zamora, who was leaving the church, said he changed lanes after seeing a vehicle coming straight at him while traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway and that he saw “bodies everywhere” after the crash.
Zamora identified Bronstein as the woman he saw in the Saturn after the crash and acknowledged that he yelled at her. He said one woman was pleading to see her son under the vehicle.
Bronstein, who is jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail, is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment Feb. 10.
She faces up to 40 years in state prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
— City News Service