Man pleads guilty to DUI manslaughter in fatal Cathedral City wreck

A 19-year-old Cathedral City man who triggered a fatal collision while under the influence of alcohol and drugs pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter and other charges.

Jose Bustamante Meza also admitted three counts of DUI causing injury, a misdemeanor count of driving without a license and sentence-enhancing allegations of causing great bodily injury stemming from the March 30 pre-dawn crash.

Meza ran a stop sign at the Cathedral City intersection of Whispering Palms Trail and McCallum Way and crashed his Jeep Cherokee into the passenger side of a Ford Mustang, killing the passenger, 26-year-old Cathedral City resident Miguel Villanueva Munguia, and injuring the driver, according to police.

Read: Cathedral City man charged with DUI gross vehicular manslaughter

Villanueva Munguia was pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:40 a.m. collision.

The Mustang’s driver was treated for unspecified injuries at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. Meza was treated for minor injuries at the same hospital before being arrested.

He is slated to be sentenced on Feb. 23.