SPECIAL REPORT: Imperial County’s year in review
The year 2022 brought us stories that made us smile, some made us sad and others made us love a sport. Today we relive those stories one more time.
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - This year was a tough year for Imperial County with crime increasing.
Like the case of one suspect on the run in El Centro, accused of shooting multiple rounds of gunfire. Neighbors described at least five to eight rounds and thankfully no one was hurt.
Calexico also had a suspect on the run, this time a robber who was caught on video demanding money.
In that video, you can see the robber pointing a gun at the cashier, turns out the suspect had already robbed another gas station and no one was hurt.
We stay in Calexico, where a man was caught on video lighting up a clothing store.
In the video, you are able to see the man getting out of Linda's fashion store and Calexico firefighters say it was the fourth fire in a week and believe that that man was the mastermind.
In Brawley, a teen of only eighteen years of age was accused of an alleged drive-by shooting in Brawley.
The eighteen-year-old was not the one who opened fire but was behind the wheel.
Police chief Jimmy Duran says they don’t believe it was gang-related. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital.
How can the community forget the sad story of the five marines killed in a military plane in a desert near Glamis, California?
The five marines were in a marine corps osprey aircraft and were training when the crash happened.
Just one day later, a Seahawk helicopter crashed near Imperial County during an overland training mission.
The navy says thankfully all four crew members who were onboard survived.
Imperial County all came together after suffering from a storm that blew through with heavy rain, high winds, and even hail hitting some parts of the valley.
The storm also left about 4,000 residents without power and floods. Residents described it as the worse storm they have ever seen.
Imperial County also had its heartwarming stories.
Who could ever forget a Spanish teacher from Calexico High School, Rosa Santiago, who was recognized by Jimmy Fallon themselves for mother’s day and national teachers day.
The Tonight Show teamed up with Samsung to inspire educators for their hard work.
Moving along with almost the favorite topic, sports.
The year of the tiger.
The Imperial Tigers girls' basketball team had an unforgettable and historic journey throughout CIF state playoffs.
It was the first time Imperial High School made it to CIF state playoffs and no other girls' basketball team in the Imperial Valley has ever done.
The team is the first team since the 1988 Calipatria boys basketball team to reach the final.
This year we also had the World Cup and you could not forget Imperial Valley’s reaction to the first Mexico game in the World Cup.
Although Mexico did not score, the residents went crazy when goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa stopped a goal from the world's best goal striker Lewandowski.
Also, a Calexico resident who is now a sports journalist had the opportunity to report for the World Cup, a dream come true.
The Imperial Valley is looking forward to starting 2023 strong.
