Driver kills one, injures eight in Bay Point night club parking lot

BAY POINT, Calif (KTVU) - The driver who plowed into a crowd of people in Bay Point, killing one, has been identified as 21 year old Martin Bretado Munoz of Pittsburg.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department says Munoz was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter outside the restaurant and nightclub where it happened.

"We got a call at three in the morning from one of Laura's friends," Agnes Sereda told KTVU, as she arranged candles in the parking lot where her sister-in-law was killed.

24 year old Laura Sanchez Gomez was enjoying a girl's night out at La Finca on Port Chicago Highway.

"This was like the highlight of her week, to come out here with her girlfriends, and get dressed up," explained Sereda. "She loved it, and when we saw her Friday night and she was in her high heels and going out, I told her to have fun, and she was so happy and excited."

But after the club closed about 1 a.m. and a few hundred people spilled out, Sanchez Gomez was among nine people hit by Munoz in his Chevy truck.

After backing into the pedestrians, he struck two other cars as well.

Club security guards held Munoz until Sheriff's deputies arrived on scene.

Guards also tried to pull Sanchez Gomez out from under the truck, but she had been crushed to death.

"When we arrived, we had approximately nine to ten victims hit by a reckless driver in the parking lot," Contra Costa County Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Johnson told KTVU, "and we've had some witnesses who have told us it was an intentional act."

The grieving family can't imagine someone plowing into the crowd on purpose.

"From what her friends said, he was really drunk," said Sereda, "and he was trying to leave and hit the gas, but he was in reverse, and then he panicked after that."

As the club set up for another night, the manager Estefan Fernandez, said his staff tries to keep patrons who are impaired from getting behind the wheel, but some slip through.

The dance club has a capacity of 500. Friday night, the crowd numbered around 300.

Laura Sanchez Gomez grew up in San Pablo, one of five siblings, and still lived there, commuting to San Francisco to her job in the cafeteria at UCSF.

Her family says she was level-headed when she went out for the evening.

"She wasn't a big drinker, she was a big dancer," observed Sereda, " and we're devastated, crushed. We can't believe it, such a good, happy person. We wouldn't wish this on anybody."

As Sereda spoke, her husband Ricardo knelt and bowed his head at the spot where his sister was hit.

The family has set up a "GoFundMe" page to help give Sanchez, who was single, a fitting burial.

La Finca also plans to host a fundraiser for the family's expenses next Saturday night.