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Case against driver accused in crash that killed grandmother, child remains under review

DA: No charges filed against Grant Thoren
Posted at 6:54 AM, Sep 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-14 21:22:26-04

SAN DIEGO - Prosecutors declined to file charges Wednesday against a man accused of driving under the influence of drugs and causing a freeway accident in Mira Mesa that killed a grandmother and a 2-year-old child.

The case against 31-year-old Vista resident Grant Thoren remains under review, said Tanya Sierra of the District Attorney's Office.

Thoren was arrested at his home a few hours after he allegedly fled the scene early Saturday after rear-ending a car driven by Jasmine Magat. He remains in custody without bail for alleged probation violations, according to the sheriff's jail website.

Magat's 2-year-old daughter, Keira, and the child's grandmother, 64-year-old Lina Pelembergo Nebrida, were killed when their disabled Honda was hit by a Toyota Tacoma truck at 1:50 a.m. on southbound Interstate 15 near Scripps Poway Parkway, authorities said.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Thoren's Cadillac CTS struck Magat's sedan from behind, and the truck hit the Honda before help could arrive.

Magat and another child, a 5-year-old daughter, were seriously injured but survived the accident.

The victims' family pastor said the 5-year-old girl continues to recover at Rady Children's Hospital.

"She doing great," said pastor Jon Mejica. "She's improved a lot."

Mejica said the girl is "up and about," walking, sitting up, and eating solid foods, which she has been asking for since the weekend.

The Magat family was in the process of moving from Temecula to the National City area when the accident happened, Mejica said.

A viewing for the victims is scheduled Monday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at El Camino Mortuary in Sorrento Valley, with a funeral at 10:30 a.m. the following day, he said.