Call it murder this time.
Multiple sources are reporting that a 51-year old woman was killed when her bicycle was rear-ended by an accused drunk driver in a Huntington Beach hit-and-run early Monday morning.
The victim, identified as 51-year old Costa Mesa resident Kristin Bellovich, was riding in the far-right lane of southbound Beach Beach Blvd at Glencoe Drive, when she was run down by the driver of a Ford SUV just after midnight.
She died after being taken to a local hospital.
The driver fled the scene, but police arrested 68-year old Elias Madriz Gutierrez shortly later. He was booked on suspicion of hit-and-run and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, along with second-degree murder.
According to My News LA, Gutierrez was convicted of DUI twice before, in January 2009 and April 2018. Which means he would have been required to sign a Watson advisement, stating he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while driving under the influence any time in the future.
As a result, he could be looking at 15-to-life for the murder charge alone, as opposed to up to six years for vehicular manslaughter.
This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th that I’m aware of in Orange County.
Fifteen of those SoCal deaths have now been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kristin Bellovich and her loved ones.
At least this case is in Orange County where the District Attorney actually prosecutes criminals unlike DA Gascon in Los Angeles.
To be honest, I haven’t seen any difference on traffic crime since Gascon compared to his predecessors. It’s long been policy in the LA DA’s office to plead major crimes down to a traffic ticket. And Spitzer isn’t as tough on traffic crimes as Rackauckas was down in OC.