UPDATE: Charges dropped against Indio woman for fatal Coachella cras
UPDATE 9/17/18: The charges against Annalee Montemayor have been dropped.
The district attorney’s office today confirmed the dismissal of vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges filed against an Indio resident following a crash that killed a young woman, as authorities continue investigating who may have been driving the involved car that veered off a roadway and overturned in the parking lot of a Coachella casino.
Alezia Carmona, 22, of El Centro, died at the scene of the June 2 crash, which occurred just after 6 a.m. when the Nissan Maxima she was riding in tumbled off the right shoulder of state Route 86 and into the parking lot of the Spotlight 29 Casino.
Annalee Montemayor, 22, of Indio, was identified by authorities shortly after the crash as the Maxima’s driver. She was hospitalized with major injuries and later arrested and charged with DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter and evading a peace officer causing injury or death.
Those charges were dismissed earlier this month, according to district attorney’s spokesman John Hall.
“During the continuing investigation into this case, our office obtained evidence that Ms. Montemayor may not have been the driver of the involved vehicle,” he said. “The investigation is ongoing and the case is still active.”
The District Attorney’s Office would not elaborate on the new evidence, but the California Highway Patrol initially stated that in addition to Carmona and Montemayor, at least one other person was in the car.
The CHP could not immediately be reached for comment on the dismissal of charges against Montemayor.
Montemayor was being held in a county jail on $1 million bail, but prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges against her on Sept. 7 and released her from custody.
CHP investigators have also said that the Maxima passed a white Pontiac Aztek just prior to the crash. After the Maxima ran off the roadway, surveillance footage shows that the Pontiac stopped “for a minimal amount of time” before proceeding “straight onto northbound state Route 86,” according to the CHP.
A photo of the witness’ vehicle, captured by a nearby surveillance camera, was released to the public in June.
Anyone with information regarding the crash was asked to contact CHP Officer Solis at (760) 772-5300.
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A woman accused of causing a fatal Coachella crash that killed her passenger when their car overturned several times and landed in the parking lot of the Spotlight 29 Casino was charged with DUI, gross vehicular manslaughter and evading a peace officer causing injury or death today.
Annalee Montemayor, 22, of Indio, is charged in the June 2 crash that killed 22-year-old Indio resident Alezia Carmona, when the Nissan Maxima they were in tumbled off the right shoulder of state Route 86 and onto the casino property just after 6 a.m.
Carmona was pronounced dead at the scene, while Montemayor was hospitalized at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs with major injuries. Jail records indicate that she was arrested at the hospital on Wednesday, and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
The circumstances leading up to the crash remain unclear, but the California Highway Patrol said that the Maxima was headed north on state Route 86, near Dillon Road, when it veered off the right side.
CHP investigators say that the Maxima passed a white Pontiac Aztek just prior to the crash. After the Maxima ran off the roadway, surveillance footage shows that the Pontiac “stops for a minimal amount of time, and proceeds straight onto northbound state Route 86,” the CHP said.
Investigators are seeking the public’s help in identifying the Pontiac driver by releasing a picture of the witness’ vehicle, which was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.
Police asked anyone with information regarding the crash to contact CHP Officer Solis at (760) 772-5300.
Carmona’s family is raising funds for her funeral costs, and as of Thursday, had reached more than half of their $5,000 goal. To contribute, visit www.gofundme.com/alexia-carolina039s-funeral-sevices.
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