Young Melissa Reynolds remains bedridden with a fractured spinal injury after an October 16 crash that injured her and three of her fellow Murrieta Valley High School cheerleaders, who are are now suing the now former Murrieta Mayor, Alan Long.
“She’s in a lot of pain, she’s suffering, she’s suffering tremendously,” said the grandmother of injured teen Melissa Reynolds in a Monday press conference. Reynolds, “suffered a broken neck and remains bedridden,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
All four girls injured in the crash – Reynolds, Chloe and Camille Rogers, and Adrienna Williams – filed a lawsuit against Long in Riverside County Superior Court Monday, claiming Long was negligent as he drove under the influence of alcohol. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Long stepped down from his position just days after the accident, in which the four 14-17-year-old girls suffered “moderate to major injuries.” They were reportedly taken to local hospitals following the accident.
Police reported that Long exhibited “signs and symptoms consistent with alcohol impairment,” according to a police report. Due to results of police-conducted field sobriety tests, “Officers determined that the driver was in fact impaired,” and Long was arrested for “driving while under the influence causing injury.”
“This is certainly very much out of character for Alan Long,” Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs, said according to The Press Enterprise. “I’ve been at a number of social events with Alan over the years… and I’ve never seen him take a drink.”
The Riverside County District Attorney has filed felony DUI charges against Long: “Those are one allegation of causing great bodily injury and three allegations of causing bodily injury.” The investigation that resulted in the charges, “revealed that Long’s blood alcohol content the night of the injury crash was 0.08 percent.”
After the incident, Long’s attorney, Virginia Blumenthal, issued a statement on Long’s behalf, apologizing for the incident. Blumenthal stated that Long had no prior arrests and asserted the belief that no crime had been committed by Long.
Then-Mayor Long attracted national media attention when massive protests occurred against the importation of illegal aliens to his city for processing from Texas U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facilities, Breitbart reported previously.
Alan Long was re-elected to the city council in the November 4 general election, with 16.62% of the vote as of November 8. In an online city profile of the former mayor that has now been removed, Long’s election in November, 2010 was achieved with the highest number of votes.
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