DUI trial date set for Palm Desert teacher, football coach

A judge confirmed an Aug. 29 trial date today for Cameron Francis Curtis, a Palm Desert High School teacher and football coach accused of striking and killing a pedestrian while intoxicated.

Curtis, 32, previously pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge after allegedly driving into 64-year-old Nancy Valdes of Palm Desert. Curtis was also held to answer for an enhancement of "[inflicting] great bodily injury."

The upcoming court date was scheduled during a trial readiness conference Tuesday.

During an Oct. 2023 preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center, Deputy Page Broughton of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department testified that he responded to the scene of the crash and saw Valdes' lifeless body lying in the street. Law enforcement body-worn camera evidence had already been filed at a felony settlement conference earlier that year.

Valdes was a caretaker for an elderly woman in the area and had just left a nearby home to walk the woman's dog when she was struck, according to Broughton. Curtis was allegedly drinking alone at Stuft Pizza, about two miles from the collision, from around 3:20 p.m. to shortly before 6 p.m.

Based on his receipt from that day, the defendant drank 91 ounces of beer and took two shots of liquor, Broughton said. A bartender told him that Curtis was a regular customer and usually sits at the bar for three hours before heading out.

Curtis has no prior convictions in Riverside County.

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