An attorney for a North County nanny who was struck and killed by an SUV in Santaluz last month filed a civil lawsuit Friday against the driver of the SUV and the driver’s husband.

Nanny Monserrat Mendez, 41, was killed when the driver of an SUV ran a red light at the intersection of Camino Del Sur and Via Verrazzano on Feb. 1.

At the time of the crash, Mendez was pushing a 14-month-old toddler in a stroller across the intersection. The nanny suffered critical injuries and later died at the hospital.

The toddler was hospitalized in intensive care for several days for injuries that included a shattered spleen, fractured femur, pelvic fracture, broken rib, broken leg and skull fracture. The little boy eventually pulled through and survived the collision.

After a lengthy investigation by San Diego police, the driver of the SUV, Christine Padilla, of Del Sur, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, failure to stop at a red light and failure to yield to a pedestrian within a crosswalk.

Padilla entered a not guilty plea on Mar. 15 and is scheduled to appear in court again on Apr. 24.

In the meantime, Padilla – who’s an attorney herself in the North County -- is facing a civil suit filed by an attorney for the Mendez family, particularly the nanny's two children left behind after her death.

Friday’s civil suit alleged that Padilla was negligent and reckless when she ran a red light and struck Monserrat and the toddler.

The suit also targets the driver’s husband, Jeffrey Padilla, as being negligent for allowing his wife to drive one day after giving birth.

On the day of the Santaluz collision, NBC 7 reported that the driver of the SUV was a brand-new mother and had just given birth. After running a check on the vehicle’s license plate, NBC 7 learned the car was registered to a Jeffrey Padilla who lives near the scene of the accident.

NBC 7 went to the address and a man who identified himself as a "Mr. Padilla" answered the door. He said his wife was too distraught to issue a statement.

“Please, she’s gone through enough. There’s no way we can give a statement right now. We have a one-day-old baby,” Mr. Padilla told NBC 7 on Feb. 1.

A police report from the fatal collision shows that Padilla admitted she was sleep-deprived after she did, in fact, give birth one day earlier.

The police report says that after the accident Padilla told officers she was driving home from her sister’s house and knew she ran a red light, but by the time she realized what she had done, it was too late.

Padilla told officers: “I’m sorry – I’m sleep-deprived and I just looked up and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s red.’ And then oh my God, and she was right there.”

In the report, Padilla goes on to attribute her fatigue to staying up late with her baby, stating: “I have a newborn. I gave birth yesterday and I need to get home.”

Mendez family attorney Jim Frantz, who’s representing Mendez’s two children, believes both the driver and her husband were at fault in the crash.

“There’s really no excuse for this occurring, at all,” Frantz told NBC 7. “Letting her drive the car after she just delivered a baby. Why wasn’t someone else driving her around? Why wasn’t [her husband] driving her around?”

Frantz believes Jeffrey Padilla is just as responsible as Christine for the accident. In the civil suit, Frantz states: “Allowing Christine to operate the Toyota 4Runner in an impaired state was negligent, careless and reckless.”

Frantz says Mendez’ surviving children – a 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter – are now living with their father.

But the pain of losing their mother so suddenly and tragically may never go away.

“These young children have lost the guidance, the love, the support of their mom and that's significant. And they're entitled to whatever damages are allowed under law,” added Frantz.

The Mendez family attorney says he will now ask for medical records to see if Christine Padilla was under the influence of any medication at the time of the fatal collision.

NBC 7 reached out to the Padillas for comment on the civil suit Friday, but they did not respond.

It’s been 23 years since a San Ysidro woman was found burned and stabbed to death in the trunk of her car, but homicide detectives are still actively looking for leads that could lead them to the murder suspect.

According to Crime Stoppers and the SDPD, victim Maria Hanbury was brutally beaten and stabbed to death at her home on Lonja Way on March 22, 1990.

Authorities in Mexico later discovered Hanbury’s battered, charred body in the trunk of her burned-out car abandoned in the community of La Presa Abelardo L. Rodriguez in Tijuana.

Detectives believe the man who murdered Hanbury was her employee, Gonzalo Herrera Montanez. He also had a child with Hanbury’s daughter, according to investigators.

Detectives say Montanez sustained cuts during the fatal struggle with the victim. After the murder, he fled to Tijuana where he was treated for his injuries.

He has family in both Tijuana and Michoacan, Mexico, according to investigators, and is wanted for his suspected involvement in the violent 1990 murder.

Detectives describe the suspect as a 44-year-old Hispanic man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He’s between 5-foot-3 and 5-foot-5 and weighs about 165 pounds. He has small stitches and scars on his right hand fingers and a small scar on his left inner thigh, and has also been known to use the alias Gonzalo Aerrera.

On Friday, officials released photos of Montanez that included an image from 1990 and an age-progression photo (see image below). They’re asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

A 9-year-old boy is alive thanks to the heroic efforts of several police officers. 

On Saturday, around 3:45 p.m., police were dispatched to a home on Billows Drive in East Greenwich, New Jersey. When they arrived, they learned that a 9-year-old boy with autism had wandered from the home in an unknown direction around 3:30 p.m. East Greenwich Police, along with the police departments, fire departments and emergency crews from neighboring towns began to search for the boy.

After searching for about an hour and a half, police and K9 units found the boy several hundred yards behind his home stuck in the Mantua Creek during low tide. The boy was about a quarter mile away from the shoreline and was submerged up to his neck in mud in extremely cold temperatures. Police say the boy was within several minutes of drowning due to the tide coming in.

Police officers quickly took action and ran into the creek. At one point, investigators say the officers became submerged in the mud and water as well but managed to free themselves and get to the child. The boy was eventually freed and carried safely to land. The child was not seriously hurt and was reunited with his father after being treated at the hospital.

“The officers did an excellent job and are credited with saving the child’s life,” said Lieutenant Charles Barone of the East Greenwich Township Police Department. “The only casualties were several destroyed police uniforms.”
 

A man in a suburb of Los Angeles lost control of his vehicle Saturday, sending the car down an embankment and landing on a neighbor's roof.

After the vehicle in Glendale, California came to a stop on the roof, a neighbor rushed over with a ladder, helping the driver and a female passenger off the home.

"There was a gentleman that was in the house that was home at the time, but he was not hurt," Glendale Fire Department spokesman Carlos Guerrero said.

Authorities used a crane to remove the vehicle.

A preliminary report indicated there was a mechanical issue with the car, according to the Glendale Police Department.

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A rare, nearly 6-foot-tall giraffe listed as an endangered animal, has been born in a Connecticut conservation center.

According to The Greenwich Times, Petal, a 6-year-old  giraffe gave birth to a female calf  on Friday as a group of other giraffes and staff at the LEO Zoological Conservation Center watched.
 
When fully grown, the newborn, who will live with a group of five giraffes including two pregnant giraffes, could reach 18 feet in height.
 
The calf is the first born at the off-exhibit conservation center.
 
Rothschild giraffes were named and described by Lord Walter Rothschild, a British zoologist, after an expedition to East Africa in the early 1900s.

A fire ignited in the garage of a La Jolla home Saturday, causing nearly $475,000 in damage, a San Diego fire dispatcher said.

The one-alarm blaze was first reported around 6:10 p.m. in the 5500-block of Bahia Lane. It was knocked out just 12 minutes later, but the front of the residence suffered heavy damage.

A dispatcher said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Total estimated damages include $350,000 to the property and $125,000 to the contents.

Just weeks after a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man, killing him in his sleep in his Seffner home, another sinkhole has opened between two houses in the same town.

The latest sinkhole appeared on Saturday and is estimated to be about 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep, according to WFLA.

Both homes on either side of the hole were evacuated as a precaution.

Sinkholes in SoFla Not Likely: Expert

Seffner is the town where 37-year-old Jeff Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole that completely demolished his bedroom three weeks ago. Five others who were in the house escaped unharmed.

That sinkhole was estimated to be 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The house was later demolished.

A group of carjacking suspects allegedly stole a vehicle in Paradise Hills and then crashed and abandoned it near a freeway off-ramp, police confirmed.

The carjacking, which involved a 1998 Chevy, happened around 9:45 p.m. Saturday in the 5500 block of Potomac Street.

Police say two male victims were in their garage when three unknown black male suspects approached and threatened them with a handgun.

The three suspects took car keys from one of the victims and then drove away in the victim’s Chevy.

California Highway Patrol officials later found the stolen vehicle abandoned -- unoccupied and overturned – on Interstate 805 at the 43rd Street off-ramp.

The investigation is ongoing. Police have limited suspect descriptions at this point, but say the suspects were wearing hooded sweatshirts.
 

A lab worker was injured while mixing chemicals at The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Chemical Studies on Sunday morning.

The incident happened at the Center on North Torrey Pines Road at around 10:30 a.m.

According to San Diego Fire Rescue spokesperson Maurice Luque, a lab worker was mixing together hot and cold chemicals when a test tube accidentally broke.

Officials say the lab worker sustained injuries to his face from exposure to the chemicals. The victim’s current condition is unknown.

Hazmat officials were called to the scene to assist following the accident.

No other injuries were reported.
 

Retired astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly was in town Saturday to deliver a keynote speech at a brain injury conference in Carlsbad.

Kelly spoke at 4 p.m. at the annual Brain Injury Rehabilitation Conference at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort located on Grand Pacific Drive. The conference brings together leading brain injury experts to discuss the latest research and advances in the field.

In his keynote speech, Kelly specifically addressed those who care for loved ones living with brain injuries. He himself speaks from first-hand experience.

Capt. Kelly is the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who survived a January 2011 shooting at a campaign event in Tucson, Ariz.

Gunman Jared Loughner -- who was ultimately sentenced to life in prison this past November – shot Giffords in the head, killed six people and injured 13 in the deadly shooting.

Over the last two years, Giffords has made a remarkable recovery from the traumatic brain injuries she sustained in the attempted assassination.

But her recovery process has not come easy.

According to Kelly, his wife has worked very hard every day since the shooting to excel at daily tasks that were once so simple for her.

On Saturday, Kelly spoke of the challenges Giffords faces every day.

“Things that she used to find so easy to do, are now a struggled every day,” said Kelly. “With hard work and taking certain steps, there are positive outcomes and Gabby is certainly one of them.”

Many caregivers listening in the audience said they consider Giffords’ story of survival inspirational. They told NBC 7 they are encouraged by Giffords' strength to keep fighting.

“It takes a lot of courage from the victim’s side to come back from that kind of an injury,” said nurse Susan Cameron.

While Giffords and Kelly wish the shooting never happened, open talks like this are giving people hope.

“[Gabby] would do anything to bring back the six people that died, but she does accept the situation she's in,” Kelly told NBC 7. “You know, if she can help anybody, she wants to help.”

In addition to involvement the brain injury rehabilitation community, both Giffords and Kelly have been outspoken when it comes to federal gun control.

At a Senate hearing on Feb. 27, with Capt. Kelly by her side, Giffords made a dramatic appeal to Congress for stricter gun control laws, urging government leaders to be “bold” and “courageous” in their decisions.

Capt. Kelly also spoke at that hearing, saying a limit on the size of ammunition magazines could’ve made a difference in his wife’s near-fatal shooting in Arizona.

A musician from Fallbrook died Saturday from critical injuries sustained in a brutal beating and robbery at his workplace in Temecula.

Edward “Larry” Robinson, 64, was critically beaten Friday during a robbery at Pete’s Music and Guitar Shop in the 28000 block of Old Town Front Street in Old Town Temecula. Robinson was working his shift at the shop at the time of the violent robbery.

Deputies said the store owner had called authorities Friday to check on Robinson because he hadn’t been heard from for hours.

Robinson was found tied up, severely injured and unconscious in the store at around 7:30 p.m. He died Saturday from his injuries, officials confirmed.

The case is being investigated as a murder and robbery, as some items, including a guitar, were stolen from the shop.

Officials are asking anyone with information about this to call deputies at (951) 955-2777 or (951) 696-3000.

The website for Pete’s Music and Guitar Shop has posted a tribute for Robinson on their homepage that includes a photograph of the Fallbrook musician.

According to the website, co-workers, friends and loved ones plan to hold a candlelight vigil Sunday night in front of the music shop in honor of Robinson. Donations will be collected at the vigil for Robinson’s family.

San Diego State knew what it was getting in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (well, technically it's the second round because the NCAA refuses to call the "play-in games" play-in games, instead choosing to label them the first round, which is ridiculous and confusing).

Oklahoma is on national TV a couple times a month, so the Aztecs had plenty of tape to break down in the 5 days leading up to the game.

It's going to be a different story in the third (second) round of the tournament. Florida Gulf Coast has only been a Division-1 program for two years. They've only been a university for 16 years. So, what could the Aztecs possibly know about the Eagles?

"We know they beat Georgetown, and that's enough to know," said forward J.J. O'Brien. "Just from watching they look like they play free and loose. Those teams are dangerous."

J.J. is absolutely right. The Eagles like to run more than Forrest Gump. They took down Georgetown by being relentless in transition, getting out on 4-on-3 and 4-on-2 breaks, finishing with tip-in or alley-oop dunks. After one particularly impressive 21-2 run, the Hoyas simply didn't know what hit them.

However, San Diego State is surprisingly more prepared. Head coach Steve Fisher has a condo in Fort Myers Beach, FL. He's toured the Florida Gulf Coast campus. He's seen them play. And he feels like the upstart Eagles are not a flash-in-the-pan. These kids are legit.

"This doesn't just happen," said Fisher. "This is not just a pick-up game on the street. This is a well-coached, well-defined style of play that they're good at."

Plus, as an unknown 15-seed, FGCU will have the Philadelphia crowd fully supporting the underdog, making it almost like a home game for them. In case you're wondering, the Eagles went 15-1 at home, including a win over ACC champion Miami (FL).

Oh, and they're now 4-0 in games played at neutral sites. This team could be the best 15-seed in the history of organized basketball.

But, they're still fighting history. The previous six teams that were seeded 15th and won their opening game failed to reach the Sweet 16.

A man was fatally shot at close range by a semi-automatic assault rifle Saturday evening outside a fast food restaurant, authorities confirmed.

The shooting happened at around 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a Carls' Jr. on Sweetwater Road in National City. The gunman fled the scene after fatally injuring a male victim.

The victim was shot approximately 10 times from a distance of about 10 to 15 feet, according to Lt. Robert Rounds. When police arrived, the victim was lying on the ground in critical condition.

He was transported to UCSD Medical Center, but died a short time later.

Police immediately began searching the area for the suspect, who fled the parking lot in a white 1970's Ford pickup truck with an orange stripe on it.

Investigators roped off the parking lot in the Sweetwater Town and Country Shopping Center with crime scene tape as they canvassed the area for bullet casings.

Witnesses Muhammed Camran and Michael Ybarra told NBC 7 San Diego that they were right across the street at the time of the shooting, playing golf at a nearby golf course.

The sudden sounds of gunfire shocked both of them.

“We were over here at the golf course just hitting some balls and we hear a loud ‘boom.’ The first one was really distinctive like ‘boom-boom-boom-boom’ and we kind of ducked because it was out of nowhere,” recalled Camran.

Meanwhile, witness Trevor Hermann was working at Pet Mart, less than 200 yards from the scene of the deadly shooting.

“I was helping a customer, looking at dog food, and then all of a sudden we heard all of the gunshot. Then I went out and thought it could have been someone's backfire from a truck, but I didn’t think that much, and then I looked further away and there was a guy just lying there,” he explained.

Hermann said he saw the suspect speeding away in an orange and white truck that drove right past his storefront.

“It had a little bit of speed on it and it went away a little quick, and that’s how I knew it was that truck that did the shooting,” he added.

Police say witnesses describe the suspect as a Hispanic male wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt. He was last seen driving east on Sweetwater Road in the distinctive truck.

The shooting victim's name has not yet been released. A report from the county Medical Examiner's office confirms the man was a 43-year-old National City resident.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Saying an underdog is a "Cinderella" is the cliche of choice for the NCAA Tournament.

It's never been so fitting as it is right now.

Florida Gulf Coast University, a school that has only played Division-1 basketball for two years; a school that has only been a school for 16 years; a school that was given a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the proverbial tune-up opponent for Georgetown; THAT school is going to the Sweet 16.

FGCU beat San Diego State 81-71 in the 3rd round. The Eagles are the first 15 seed ever to win two games in the Big Dance. They're either the greatest 15 seed in history, or the Selection Committee made a horrible miscalculation in their assessment.

Either way, it means the Aztecs' season is over. San Diego State was in a close, exciting game until the 11:35 mark of the second half. Xavier Thames made a free throw to cut the Eagles' lead to 54-52. That's when they went ice-cold from the field, missing 10 straight shots. FGCU took advantage, going on a 17-0 run that the Aztecs could not overcome.

The Eagles (fitting mascot since they played these games in Philadelphia, the home of the NFL's Eagles) shot nearly 56% from the field.

It was the final game in the career of senior guard Chase Tapley, the only player in SDSU history to go to the NCAA Tournament 4 straight years. Head coach Steve Fisher summed up the game, and the season, quite nicely.

"When it ends, it ends dramatically," said Fisher after the loss. "It ends in a train wreck. When it ends, it's never fun. And, there are tears, and there should be. But, the pride through the tears is what I'll remember. We wanted to win the league. We didn't. We wanted to win the Conference Tournament. We didn't. We wanted to make the NCAA Tournament. We did. We won a game, only the second time we've done that. But it's not enough for anybody, including me. We want more. But I think that's what happens when you grow a program. You raise expectations, and I'm proud of the fact that we do have a program now."

The Aztecs are losing Tapley, James Rahon and DeShawn Stephens to graduation. They might lose Jamaal Franklin to the NBA. There's still an awful lot of talent on the Mesa. If Franklin decides to return for his senior year (he was not directly asked about his intentions in the post-game media session), the expectations will be for San Diego State to return to the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year.

Several people in Newtown have been on the receiving end of robocalls from the National Rifle Association. The calls started last week and many people on the other end of line are furious.

The National Rifle Association is calling residents urging them to contact their state legislators and push back against proposals for stricter gun laws.

The calls are stirring controversy and outrage in Newtown. People there are calling them insensitive.

"I was just kind of more shocked. That type of call would come to Newtown three months from one of the most horrendous tragedies and to call the town of Newtown didn't seem like the right thing to do," said Newtown resident Tom Maurath.

Maurath said he received the calls last week and believes it crosses the line from a political issue to one of right and wrong.

Tom and his neighbors are most upset that they have received the calls during dinner time. A time when the whole family is home including children who might not know the details of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Dan O'Donnell lives in Sandy Hook and said he never though about the gun debate until his town became the center of it and now robocalls are bringing the discussion to his doorstep.

"I have no understanding why they would be calling my house. Three calls in one week asking us to protect our Second Amendment Rights when I'm not a member of their organization," he said.

Dan said he supports efforts to explore more gun control legislation. The robocalls asking him to reject proposals for any new laws go against what he believes in and he finds them disturbing.

"It's ridiculous and insensitive. I can't believe an organization would be so focused on the rights of gun owners with no consideration for the losses this town suffered."

NBC Connecticut reached out to the NRA for comment and has not heard back. Federal law allows nonprofits like the NRA to issue unsolicited robocalls.

A suspected drunken bicyclist slammed his bike into a parked car early Sunday morning and sustained serious facial injuries, police said.

The crash happened just past 2 a.m. in the 2500 block of 30th Street near San Diego’s South Park neighborhood.

Police said the bicyclist – a 24-year-old man who has not been identified by name – suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local trauma center.

Investigators believe he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.

No one else was injured.