A driver was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI Sunday after crashing a vehicle into a tree in Oceanside, killing one of his two passengers, police said.
Police said that they suspect alcohol and speeding to be factors in the accident, involving a 2003 Nissan Maxima traveling eastbound on state Route 76 at Airport Road.
At 1:54 a.m. the driver lost control of the car and crashed into a tree on the south shoulder of the roadway, according to the Oceanside Police Department.
The driver was identified as Guillermo Sanchez Pacheco, 29. He was briefly hospitalized for minor injuries and then arrested.
A rear passenger, a 30-year-old man who has not yet been identified, died in the accident. The front-seat passenger, who also was not identified, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
– City News Service