Mom Arrested on DUI Charges After Fatal Crash Claims the Life of Her Daughter

It seems unthinkable that someone would choose to drink and drive, let alone do so while their children were passengers. Unfortunately, that’s what one mother decided to do over the weekend; it cost her the life of one of her children.

The Press-Enterprise reports that a mother has been arrested on suspicion of DUI after she allegedly caused a crash in Temecula that killed her daughter and seriously injured her two other children.

According to a statement released by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), on Sunday, July 24, 33-year-old Jessica Nieto of Temecula was driving westbound on Highway 79 in a 2011 Honda Pilot when she allowed her vehicle to drift onto the right shoulder of the road.

Nieto overcorrected to get back onto the pavement and sent the USV into the oncoming lane, colliding head-on with an eastbound 2011 Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

Inside Nieto’s vehicle were her three children. Her 8-year-old daughter, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Nieto’s 12-year-old son and five-year-old daughter suffered major injuries and were rushed to Riverside County Regional Medical Center. Nieto also suffered major injuries and was transported to inland Valley Medical Center. 

The CHP said three people inside the pickup truck, a driver and passenger in their 40s, and a 12-year-old girl, suffered minor injuries.

After treatment, Nieto was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI, child endangerment, and gross vehicular manslaughter.

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