Suspected Drunken Driver Causes Fatal Crash in Lakeland Village

Suspected Drunken Driver Causes Fatal Crash in Lakeland Village

by Contributing Editor

A suspected drunken driver accused of causing a head-on collision that killed a 67-year-old Lake Elsinore man was being held Monday in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Jose Luis Montejo, 22, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence resulting in great bodily injury and DUI gross vehicular manslaughter. He was booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Lassig, the head-on collision happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the area of Grand Avenue and Vail Street, in a community known as Lakeland Village, just west of Lake Elsinore.

Lassig said that Montejo — suspected of driving while impaired — was headed north on Grand in a 2006 Buick Rendezvous when the victim, whose identity was not immediately released, approached from the opposite direction, headed southbound, in a restored 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle.

“(Montejo) made an unsafe turning movement to the left, causing his SUV to travel into the southbound traffic lane, directly in front of the Chevelle,” Lassig said. “The suspect’s unsafe turning movement caused the front of his vehicle to collide with the front of the Chevelle.”

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived within a few minutes and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

The suspect was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he was treated for minor to moderate injuries, then booked into jail.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com