Woman dies after drunk driver with prior DUI arrests crashes into palm tree

Will Conybeare
·2 min read

A woman died in a crash caused by a drunk driver she was traveling with, police say.

According to preliminary information from the Santa Ana Police Department, multiple calls reporting a single-vehicle collision in the 800 block of South Main Street in Santa Ana came in around 2:08 a.m. Sunday.

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SAPD officers and Orange County Fire Authority first responders arrived at the scene moments after the crash and discovered that a truck that had collided with a tree and then a pole.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it is believed the truck was traveling southbound on Main Street when it lost control, [struck] a palm tree and [came] to a stop against a pole,” Santa Ana police said in a media release.

Inside the truck were three occupants, including two men – one of whom was driving while the other was seated in the rear – and a woman who was sitting in the front passenger seat, law enforcement officials said.

OCFA had to extricate the driver and the female passenger before taking all three victims to a nearby hospital, where the woman succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased.

The two men were said to be in stable condition, the Santa Ana Police Department confirmed.

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Traffic detectives later determined the driver of the vehicle had prior DUI arrests and was under the influence of alcohol “and possibly drugs,” police said. He was arrested for DUI causing death and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

His identity has not yet been released.

The Santa Ana Police Department’s Collision Investigations Unit is handling the investigation.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Corporal D. Carrillo by calling 714-245-8208. Calls can also be directed to the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at 714-245-8200.

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