Pedestrian Struck, Killed In Lake Elsinore, Driver Cited With DUI

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A 48 year old Lake Elsinore man was fatally struck Sunday night by a suspected DUI driver, according to a California Highway Patrol media release.

Benjamin Douglass, of Lake Elsinore, was identified as the victim of the fatal collision, following notification of his next of kin, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department Coroner's Bureau.

Just after 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, a driver of a 2022 Toyota Rav4 heading southbound on Grand Avenue just north of Marvella Lane struck Douglass, a pedestrian, according to a report from Officer Brian Seel of CHP Temecula.

Douglass was walking within the southbound lane of Grand Avenue, north of Marvella Lane, directly in the path of the Toyota, and was fatally struck, Seel reported. "It is unknown at this time if the 48-year-old male was under the influence at the time of the collision," Seel said.

Though the driver of the Toyota did not claim any injuries, according to Seel, he was transported by CHP to a local hospital where was unable to be medically cleared and ultimately was admitted as a patient, then released at 3:40 a.m. Monday morning. The driver's name was not immediately released.

"CHP investigators determined that the driver of the Toyota had been driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. He was placed under arrest for misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol.