52-year-old arrested on DUI charges in Palm Springs crash that killed three people
Police arrested a suspect accused of causing a crash that killed three people in Palm Springs this past September.
Shawn Michael Kirkpatrick, 52, was arrested on Thursday. He was charged with three felony counts of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and one felony count each of DUI alcohol causing great bodily injury and DUI alcohol of .08% or more causing bodily injury, according to court records. He additionally faces sentence-enhancing allegations of inflicting great bodily injury.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center and had his next court appearance set for Jan. 4, 2024.
The crash happened on Sept. 3 along Gene Autry Trail at the Whitewater Wash. Palm Springs police said the crash was caused by high winds that kicked up sand, severely reducing visibility in the area.
Police noted that the reduced visibility caused two vehicles to slow down, but the third vehicle failed to decelerate, resulting in a rear-end collision that led to a subsequent impact with the third vehicle.
(Courtesy of PSPD)
Three Escondido residents were killed in the crash, Yovani Aguilera Tapia, 32, David Losacco, 29, and Millicent Lewis, 29.
The other people involved in the wreck suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital.
Police originally said drugs and/or alcohol were not suspected of contributing to the accident. However, on Tuesday, authorities said an investigation by PSPD's Traffic Division led to charges being filed with the Riverside County District Attorney's office.
The charges were approved on Oct. 12.
Kirkpatrick was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remains held without bail.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates on this case.
