Patch.com reports that one person died in a head-on collision on Monday caused by what authorities believe was an intoxicated driver.
According to a statement released by the California Highway Patrol, the fatal crash happened at approximately 7:20 p.m.
Investigators say that 54-year-old Ernest Lugo of Westminster was heading westbound Domenigoni Parkway near Alamar Mesa Drive when his pickup truck at an unknown speed crossed over into the eastbound lanes of Alamar Mesa Drive when he collided with a 2008 BMW.
Both vehicles sustained heavy damage, and debris from the crash hit a Nissan sedan that was directly behind the BMW. Officer Jonathan Torres told reporters that the Nissan suffered only minor damage.
Cal Fire / Riverside County Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced the driver of the BMW dead at the scene. A passenger who was in Lugo’s pickup truck during the crash was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries and was later released from the hospital.
CHP officers at the scene administered field sobriety and breathalyzer tests to Lugo and determined that he was driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Lugo was arrested on the charge of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI and is being held without bond at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
