Teen girl killed, another arrested after suspected DUI crash in El Dorado County
A teenage girl was arrested this week on suspicion of a DUI crash in El Dorado County that killed her passenger, also a teen, California Highway Patrol officials said.
A 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis sedan was reportedly speeding on westbound Omo Ranch Road near Mt. Aukum Road, south of Somerset, around 5 p.m. Monday, when the driver lost control and ended up crashing into trees and then a pond, the CHP Placerville office said in a news release.
The driver freed herself from the vehicle, but the passenger remained trapped inside, CHP officials wrote. A passerby helped pull the passenger out of the vehicle and out of the pond.
The passenger was pronounced dead at UC Davis Medical Center later Monday. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the CHP collision report.
Both occupants were 17-year-old girls from Somerset, according to the CHP.
The driver was taken to a separate hospital with minor injuries, and was then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The DUI suspect was not identified by the CHP because she is a juvenile. The CHP Placerville office said it is continuing to investigate the incident with assistance from the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office.
The deceased victim’s identity will be released by El Dorado County sheriff-coroner’s officials pending notification of family.
