BY KEVIN PEARSON
Nearly four months after eight Hemet High School students were injured when a classmate’s vehicle struck them in a crowded crosswalk, the CHP says it has finished its investigation and turned the case over to the Riverside County district attorney’s office. The office will now decide what if any charges to bring against the driver, Daniel Carrillo. District attorney’s office spokesman John Hall said the case is under review . CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer said the case was presented to the DA’s office Monday, Sept. 17, and prosecutors formally accepted the investigation as complete with no further questions that had to be delved into. The district attorney’s office had repeatedly asked the CHP for more investigation over the past four months. Meyer said the agency spent more than 200 man hours on the investigation, including follow-up interviews with dozens of witnesses , reviewing the crash from seven camera angles that were captured at the school and an extensive look at the 1990 Ford Ranger Carrillo was driving. Investigators have said that just after classes let out May 30, Carrillo was driving in excess of 50 mph while weaving through traffic, then hit students as he ran a red light at Stetson Avenue and Bulldog Way. Eight students sustained a wide range of injuries, none worse than Helen Richardson, who suffered permanent brain damage. She was crossing the street to participate in a powder puff football game. Carrillo, 18, originally told investigators his brakes failed, but the CHP previously said investigators ruled that out. Among the requests from the district attorney’s office was that the CHP do a complete inspection of the truck’s master cylinder and brake fluid. “The ball is in their court at this point,” Meyer said. “It won’t come back another time. We did everything we could and I think they are happy.”