A 19-year-old suspected drunken driver accused of hitting two pedestrians, killing one, on a Perris street was free Monday on $75,000 bail.
Kathy Vargas of Homeland was arrested in the predawn hours Sunday on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence resulting in great bodily injury and felony DUI. She posted bond that night and was released from the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Riverside County sheriff’s officials, Vargas was driving northbound on Encanto Drive, near Ethanac Road, when her sedan drifted into opposing traffic lanes about 1:15 a.m. The vehicle continued across the southbound lanes and onto the shoulder of the roadway, investigators said.
A man and woman walking on the shoulder, facing southbound traffic, were struck from behind by Vargas’ car, according to the sheriff’s department.
The female victim, identified only as a 26-year-old Perris resident, suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, investigators said. Her friend suffered minor injuries but declined to be taken to a hospital for treatment.
Vargas remained at the location and was questioned and arrested without a struggle, according to sheriff’s officials.
She has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.