Driver Suspected of DUI Charged with Second-Degree Murder

According to an article appearing on the My News LA website, a man accused of driving under the influence of alcohol in a fatal crash on Interstate 5 in Corona was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday in a Riverside County court.

Authorities say that 29-year-old Jorge Gomez Augustin was arrested in connection to a fatal crash that happened over the weekend. 

Investigators say that the crash happened just before dawn on Saturday, February 12, in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 at Weirick Road when Augustin’s Mercedes Benz E350 collided with a Honda compact SUV.  

In a statement, California Highway Patrol Officer Juan Quintero told reporters that both vehicles went off the freeway and down an embankment and across the ramp lanes of Weirick Road before coming to a rest near the exit ramp. 

The 44-year-old male driver of the Honda CRV was the vehicle’s sole occupant. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics with the Corona Fire Department. 

Augustin was given a series of field sobriety tests then later placed under arrest on suspicion of DUI by CHP officers. He was booked into the Robert Presley Jail later that day. 

Court documents indicate that Augustin was previously convicted of the felony charges of importation and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. A judge ordered Augustin to be held without bail until his initial court appearance in Riverside County Court on Wednesday, February 16. 

At the initial hearing, prosecutors upgraded the charges against the defendant to second-degree murder. 

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