Antioch mom riding bike to get popsicles killed by suspected drunk driver
Family demands safety improvements after 29-year-old mother of 2 is killed by suspected drunk driver
The mother of 2 young children was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver in Antioch early on Saturday morning. Her family and friends are outraged and saddened. They're demanding safety improvements. .
ANTIOCH, Calif. - Family and friends of an Antioch woman struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver are calling for change.
They said Lone Tree Way, a major thoroughfare where Linda Woolridge was killed, is dangerous because drivers often speed and disregard traffic lights.
Woolridge's loved ones said they're speaking out in hopes of saving lives.
"It's disappointment. It's rage. It's anger, sadness," Woolridge's mother, Linnette Kidd said on Tuesday.
Kidd said her 29-year-old daughter's life was stolen by someone who made the choice to drive impaired.
"Family vacations. None of that. She loved Tahoe, the snow. She can't do none of that," said Kidd.
Police said Woolridge was riding her bicycle when she was struck by a driver just after midnight on Saturday. She died at the scene.
"I found her right here, the furthest right lane," Marc Stowell said.
He said he was driving by and initially swerved to avoid what he thought was garbage along the road.
But he soon realized it was a person.
He became emotional as he described how he reacted.
"I went to check on her vitals," he said. "I called 911."
Police said they arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of driving under the influence.
He has since been released while police said they're completing their investigation before turning the case over to the district attorney for charging.
Police said speed is a problem along this roadway.
"Her blood is on this street," family friend Mahagany Gilliam said, adding that there has been a number of people killed along Lone Tree Way.
She and Woolridge's family called for safety improvements, including better lighting.
"This is wrong. Somebody in city engineering needs to say enough is enough," said Gillam.
Kidd found popsicle wrappers at the crash site and said her daughter's partner had sent her out to a convenience store to buy the items when she was killed.
She shared a cell phone video and photos of her daughter with the two young children she left behind.
"I can't hug her and they can't hug her. No more birthdays, Christmas," said Kidd.
Family and friends plan to attend the city council meeting next week to demand safety improvements along Lone Tree Way.
They're asking other families whose loved ones were killed in crashes along Lone Tree Way to join them.
Funeral services for Woolridge are scheduled for Aug. 8.
Linda Wooldridge was riding her bicycle on Lone Tree Way when she was killed.
Friends and family hug after the death of Linda Wooldridge in Antioch.
Linda Wooldridge was riding her bicycle to get popsicles at a nearby store when she was killed in a suspected DUI, Antioch police said.
Family mourns the loss of Linda Wooldridge, who was killed while riding her bicycle in Antioch.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU