KSEQ Channel 3 reports that a motorist suspected in a deadly DUI crash in July has surrendered to police following his release from the hospital earlier this week.
Authorities say that the crash happened on the night of Saturday, July 30, at the intersection of East Palm Canyon Drive and Sunrise Way when a 57-year-old man from Los Angeles was heading southbound and rear-ended another vehicle that was stopped at the intersection. The force of the impact caused a chain-reaction crash with two additional cars.
Emergency crews, including paramedics, arrived at the scene and pronounced the driver in the first vehicle dead at the scene of the crash. A passenger inside the same vehicle was seriously injured and taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Investigators with the Palm Springs Police Department’s Traffic Division determined that the man was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the deadly crash. He also had suffered severe injuries but was informed by police that he would be arrested upon release from the hospital.
The man surrendered to police on Sunday, October 9. He is currently being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on a $2 million bond.
An investigation determined that the suspect driver had also been involved in an earlier crash on the same night at Ramon Road and Sunrise Way intersection.
A spokesperson for the Palm Springs Police Department said that the unidentified suspect has had a previous DUI conviction and, therefore, will likely be charged with murder in the July crash along with several additional related charges.
The man is set to appear in court in Indio on Wednesday, October 12.
