Crime & Safety
Details, ID Released In Deadly French Valley Wreck: DUI Suspected
CHP officials say DUI is suspected in the crash and that a person has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
FRENCH VALLEY, CA — A Winchester man is behind bars on Monday, accused of murder and driving under the influence in a deadly weekend crash in Southwest Riverside County. Meanwhile, Riverside County coroner's officials say the person who was killed in the wreck was also a resident of that town.
The crash happened around 5:35 p.m. Sunday along Winchester Road/SR-79, according to fire and CHP officials.
As 59-year-old Elvis Eugene Tate was headed northbound on the 79 in a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant, he ran a red light at Benton Road, slamming into a woman who was turning onto the roadway, according to CHP Officer Mike Lassig. That woman was in a 2016 Honda Civic along with another person, he said.
"[Tate] failed to stop for the red traffic signal at Benton Road and the front of his vehicle collided with the left front door of [the woman's] vehicle, killing her instantly and inflicting major injuries on her passenger," Lassig said in a news release.
The woman has since been identified by the coroner's office as 27-year-old Ashley Alcaraz of Winchester.
"After the initial collision, the vehicles continued out-of-control and struck two additional vehicles that were stopped in the southbound lanes of Winchester Road waiting at the red light at Benton Road," Lassig added. "The drivers of those vehicles were treated on-scene and released."
Following the crash, Tate was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries, according to Lassig. After he was treated, officers escorted him over to the French Valley jail where he was booked on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence. He was being held without bail as of Monday morning, booking records showed.
The CHP's Temecula Area office is investigating the crash and asked anyone who witnessed it to call (951) 506-2000.
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— Photos credit: Joe Fanaselle
