Driver accused in deadly Rancho Mirage crash in court
A 65-year-old Palm Desert woman who allegedly drove drunk and triggered a car crash at a Rancho Mirage country club that killed her passenger last year pleaded not guilty to murder and DUI charges.
Shelley Ann Bunn is accused of crashing her vehicle into a parked trailer at the Sunrise Country Club just after 12:30 a.m. last Oct. 13. She allegedly told sheriff’s deputies after the crash that she had consumed about eight beers throughout the day, according to court documents, which state that her blood-alcohol content was measured at .11 — the legal limit is .08.
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 suffered broken bones.
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. She will return to court Oct. 18 for a bail review hearing and felony settlement conference.
