San Jose

18-year-old dies after falling out of truck doing donuts in San Jose parking lot

The driver was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence, police said

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An 18-year-old woman died last week after she fell out of and was then struck by a pickup truck that was doing donuts in a San Jose parking lot, police said Monday.

Police believe alcohol played a role in the incident, which happened late Friday night along the 14900 block of Camden Avenue.

Officers responded to the scene to investigate a report of a solo vehicle collision, police said. They determined that four adults – a male driver along with a female passenger and two male passengers – were inside the pickup truck that was being driven "recklessly" and doing donuts in a parking lot.

The woman, identified as Paulina Verduzco Mendoza of Gilroy, fell out of the truck and landed on the pavement, police said. She was then hit by the truck.

The driver took Mendoza to a local hospital, but she did not survive, police said.

Officers took the driver into custody and later booked him into the Santa Clara County Jail for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence, police said.

This marks the 37th traffic death in San Jose this year, according to police.

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