Sheriff deputy’s patch. (Photo courtesy of OnScene.TV)
A 28-year-old DUI suspect was recovering in a hospital Monday from injuries he suffered when the pickup truck he was driving against traffic on a thoroughfare near the intersection of state Route 94 and SR-125 collided head-on with an SUV, fatally injuring a passenger in the second vehicle.
The suspect was heading west on the eastbound side of Broadway in Lemon Grove when the Chevrolet Silverado he was driving crashed into the oncoming Ford Explorer just east of Sweetwater Road shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrived to find the suspect standing outside his badly damage vehicle with “a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath and person,” Sgt. William Price said.
Paramedics took the driver of the Explorer and one of two people who had been riding in it to a hospital, where the latter was pronounced dead. The victim’s name was withheld pending family notification.
“During the initial investigation, two open alcoholic beverages were found within the pickup, and a canister of nitrous oxide was located on the ground (alongside the) truck,” Price said.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated and transported to a trauma center.
“The suspect’s identification is being withheld, as the investigation is still ongoing,” the sergeant said Monday.