DUI Driver Rear-Ends Car Into OC Wetlands, Killing Woman: Police

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A 54-year-old woman was killed in a suspected DUI crash that left a car partially submerged in a wetlands area in Orange County this week.

The crash happened at around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday on Pacific Coast Highway south of Warner Avenue, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department.

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A silver Kia Soul and a white BMW 328i crashed, the force of the crash sending the Kia into the marsh, police said.

"HBPD officers, along with Huntington Beach Lifeguards who were also called to the scene, extracted a 54-year-old woman from Long Beach from the Kia," HBPD Public Affairs Officer Jessica Cuchilla said. "Paramedics were called to the scene, and she was transported to a local hospital, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries.

The driver of the BMW, a 24-year-old man from Long Beach, was contacted and taken into custody by officers who suspect he was impaired at the time of the crash, she said.

"Based on the preliminary investigation, the Kia was traveling northbound on PCH when it was struck from behind by the BMW, also traveling northbound on PCH, sending the Kia into the wetlands," Cuchilla said.

The collision is being investigated by the HBPD Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, and anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it was urged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator V. Rattanchandani at 714-960-5231.