8-year-old boy killed in DUI crash on what neighbors call deadly Selma cross streets

SELMA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The glow of a candlelit memorial, at Bethel and Rose, marks where an 8-year-old little boy took his final breaths.

"Somebody's family and its somebody's loss, it's very scary, it's so sad," said neighbor Melvin Alves.

It was just after 10 p.m. on Saturday when the driver of a BMW heading northbound on Bethel t-boned a family of three in a Kia. The impact knocked the Kia into a tree and trapped the family inside.

The BMW landed in an empty irrigation canal.

Investigators arrested 35-year-old Karmjit Singh for DUI.

RELATED: ICE issues immigration detainer on driver in deadly Selma DUI crash

According to CHP, the Visalia man was driving on a suspended license after a DUI conviction in 2016.

They add witnesses saw him driving the BMW at about 100 miles per hour when he ran the stop sign.

"We heard the loud bang, and we thought it was a big truck," said neighbor Sophia Nagao.

Nagao said this isn't the first deadly crash at their cross streets. She said, sadly, they are always prepared for this.

"We have flares we have a system where we lock the dogs up, and I call 911," she said. "It just hurts because I have grandbabies the age of this poor young man that lost his life."

Neighbors teamed up to aid the family as they waited for an ambulance. They weren't ready for what they saw.

"It's not something I want to be prepared for, it's not something I want to do, but if we can help another family that's what we're here for," Nagao said.

People living in the area have already submitted a petition with the county to make the intersection a 4-way stop.

The 8-year-old died from his injuries. His parents Scott and Megan Martzen were transported to a Selma hospital with broken bones.

Back in 2013, Megan was covered by Action News when she served jail time in connection with the death of a 17-month-old. She pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.