76-year-old held in pedestrian’s death in south Sacramento. Police say he was driving drunk

A pedestrian is dead after being hit by a man accused of driving under the influence Wednesday in south Sacramento, police said.

Sacramento Police Department officers responded to the area of Stockton Boulevard and Lawrence Drive around 3:30 p.m. on reports of a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, department spokesman Officer Karl Chan told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday.

Chan said the pedestrian, later identified by police as an adult male, suffered serious injuries and was transported to a hospital, where he died.

Detectives from the Sacramento Police Department’s Major Collisions Investigations Unit revealed in a preliminary investigation that a sedan failed to stop for a red light, struck a minivan and then hit the man, police said in a news release.

Police said the driver and a passenger in the sedan were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The occupants of the minivan were not injured.

The investigation also revealed that the driver of the sedan, identified as Edward Johnson, was suspected to be driving under the influence, police said.

Johnson, 76, was arrested and booked into Sacramento County Main Jail, according to police. He faces felony charges of DUI and vehicular manslaughter.

Sacramento police said on social media Wednesday that both directions of Stockton Boulevard were closed from 21st Avenue to Fruitridge Road. The road was reopened around 9:50 p.m.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release the victim’s identity once his family is notified.

This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 7:35 PM.