HEMET, CA — A 71-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle while walking in a crosswalk in Hemet has been identified as a resident of that city.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Coroner’s Bureau identified Debra Dean as having died from injuries sustained in a Saturday night crash, her identity revealed following next of kin notification.
Shortly before 11:15 p.m. Saturday, a vehicle traveling eastbound on State Route 74 and Columbia Street struck Dean while she was crossing the street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“A Honda drove through a red light at the intersection while traveling in the No. 1 lane at an unconfirmed speed, striking Dean,” according to CHP reports. She was taken by ambulance to Hemet Global Medical Center, where she later died from her injuries.
Shortly before 1 a.m., investigators identified the suspected driver as William David Camarena, 21, of Hemet, who fled the scene. He was later located by authorities at Soboba Casino and arrested. His car was seized as evidence, according to CHP reports.
Camarena was being held without bail at the Larry D. Smith Correctional facility on pending charges of felony murder with malice, hit and run with serious or permanent injury, and felony DUI with alcohol causing bodily injury, according to jail records. He will appear in court on Wednesday morning to face those charges.
The cause of the fatal crash remains under investigation.
