Palm Desert Woman Accused In Deadly DUI Crash To Be Arraigned For Murder

INDIO, CA — A 65-year-old woman who allegedly drove drunk and triggered a car crash at a Rancho Mirage country club that killed her passenger last year was set to be arraigned Monday on murder and DUI charges.

Shelley Ann Bunn of Palm Desert is accused of crashing her vehicle into a parked trailer at the Sunrise Country Club just after 12:30 a.m. last Oct. 13 after drinking about eight beers throughout the day, she allegedly told sheriff's deputies after the crash.

Bunn's front seat passenger, John Boyd, died on Oct. 23 from "multiple blunt impact injuries," according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant. Bunn, who suffered broken bones, had a blood-alcohol content of .11 -- the legal limit is .08 -- at the time of the crash, according to court documents.

Bunn was charged with murder because of a previous DUI case on her record. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge in 2007 in a Palm Springs case, and received three years probation, court records show.

Bunn was arrested Thursday in Palm Desert and is being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio in lieu of $1 million bail.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone