Alleged DUI driver in fatal Cathedral City crash to be arraigned
A DUI gross vehicular manslaughter charge was filed today against an allegedly impaired driver accused of causing a Cathedral City crash that killed his passenger.
Mario Garcia, 46, was arrested at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he was treated for minor injuries sustained in the Tuesday morning rollover crash. The motorist’s blood-alcohol level was measured at more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent, according to Cathedral City Police Chief Travis Walker.
Police found a car overturned in the northbound lanes of Date Palm Drive, near Tachevah Drive and Tortuga Road, at 2:04 a.m., according to police. Lenette Saubel, 45, of Cathedral City, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to educate the masses about the hazards of driving under the influence, yet we still sadly see unnecessary death due to poor decisions made by those who drive impaired,” the chief said.
Garcia, who’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail, is slated to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in Indio.
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