Northridge Woman Identified As Victim In High-Speed DUI Crash

WINNETKA, CA — A 42- year-old Northridge woman has been identified as the fatal victim in a high-speed, three-car crash that also left four people injured last week. The crash is being blamed on a suspected drunken driver.

The woman was Rosario Chavez, said Lt. Larry Dietz of the coroner's office. According to the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Bureau, Jose Miguel Mejia, 28, of Northridge was eastbound on Roscoe, driving a 2016 Dodge Challenger at high-speed, when he sideswiped an eastbound 2001 Subaru Impreza and crashed into a 2013 Ford Escape just west of Irondale. The crash was reported at 2:09 a.m. Thursday in the area of Roscoe Boulevard and Irondale Avenue, .

"The impact caused the Subaru to spin out of control and it came to a stop in the opposing traffic lanes," Officer Tony Im of the LAPD's Media Relations Section said. "The Ford Escape was forced into an easterly direction out of control as it collided with the curb, a street sign, a tree and a power pole."

Chavez, the lone occupant in the Ford, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, Im said.

The Subaru driver, a 27-year-old Northridge man who was also his vehicle's sole occupant, sustained minor injuries in the crash, Im said.

Mejia suffered severe injuries and remains hospitalized. He eventually was arrested on suspicion of murder, Im said.

Two male passengers also were in the Dodge. One was hospitalized in serious condition; the other in critical condition, according to Im.

City News Service, Photo: Shutterstock