Suspected DUI Driver Arrested After Fatal Crash in Palm Springs

Yahoo! News reported on Tuesday that a suspected DUI driver had been arrested for his role in a five-vehicle crash in Palm Springs that has taken the life of a Chula Vista man

Authorities in Palm Springs say that the accident happened at the intersection of North Palm Canyon Road and Alejo Road at approximately 5:00 p.m. on December 28, 2021.

The Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement that 41-year-old Andrew Watson Hibbard of Oregon was driving a conversion van southbound on North Palm Canyon Drive at a high rate of speed when his vehicle rear-ended a Tesla. The Tesla was stopped behind three other cars that were stopped at a red light at the intersection of Palm Canyon Drive and Alejo Road.

The force of the impact sent the Tesla into the car directly in front of it in a chain reaction crash. A total of five vehicles were involved in the accident.

Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene involving five vehicles. Seven people were injured. Four were sent to area hospitals to treat injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. 

One of the accident victims, a 36-year-old Chula Vista man who is believed to have been driving the Tesla, was declared dead upon arrival at the medical center. 

Hibbard was arrested and taken into custody by Palm Springs Police officers. Hibbard is now facing charges of DUI, murder, gross vehicular manslaughter involving intoxication, and DUI causing great bodily injury or death. 

Court documents indicate that Palm Springs Police had previously arrested Hibbard in a previous DUI in 2008.

A Riverside County judge has set Hibbard’s bail at $2 million.

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