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Woman arrested accused of murder in crash that killed 2 young brothers, grandmother in Escondido

28-year-old Ashley Rene Williams was arrested Thursday on four counts of murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Credit: Escondido Police Department

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Escondido police on Thursday announced the arrest of a 28-year-old Escondido woman accused of murder in a crash that killed two young brothers, their grandmother and her boyfriend last month. Ashley Rene Williams is accused of being the driver of the vehicle that hit four pedestrians on San Pasqual Valley Road at Oak Hill Drive on May 5.

When officers responded to the crash scene at about 8:30 p.m. that night they found four victims - two boys 10 and 11, who were brothers, their 50-year-old grandmother, and her 33-year-old boyfriend had been struck by a 2014 Mazda 3, according to Lt. Scott Walters of the Escondido Police Department. 

The 33-year-old man and the 11-year-old boy died at the scene. The grandmother and her 10-year-old grandson were transported to Palomar Medical Center where they later died from injuries sustained in the collision. 

Williams was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital for treatment of
moderately serious injuries.

RELATED: 2 brothers, grandmother among 4 pedestrians hit, killed by driver in Escondido

Officers took Williams into custody at her home Thursday morning in connection with the deaths last month of Carmela Camacho, 50; Abel Valdez, 33; Yovanny Felix, 10; and Emmanuel Riva, 11, according to police.

Williams was arrested Thursday on four counts of murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and will be booked into the Vista Detention Facility after processing, according to police. 

According to police, Williams hit all four people while they were walking. The aftermath the day after the crash showed the impact where a tree was uprooted, branches strewn several feet around and a metal "no stopping" sign was pushed almost to the ground.

A statement from police read in part: 

"This case has been a devastating event for our community. Investigators spent many hours putting together this case and we want the public to understand the following:

• All murder cases take time, energy, and a team of investigators to gather and process the evidence.

• Moreover, the nature of vehicle-related death investigations require significant follow-up investigation including vehicle computer analysis, cell phone analysis, roadway computations, and lab tests.

• When arrests are made too quickly and without enough investigation, the DA’s office may not be able to prosecute the case because the case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

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