A 55-year-old motorist who allegedly struck and killed a woman trying to help an injured wild burro just north of Moreno Valley was charged Friday with second-degree murder.
Martin Joel Ramirez Hernandez of Mecca was arrested Wednesday following a three-week investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Hernandez, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, was slated to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant had been hospitalized for several weeks following the wreck, and during that time, sheriff’s investigators gathered sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for him.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Grmusha, the deadly crash happened about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 15 along Redlands Boulevard, just north of Ironwood Avenue, in an area known as Big Horn Canyon.
Grmusha said that the chain wreck began when a 2013 Toyota Corolla hit a wild donkey crossing the two-lane corridor, mortally injuring the animal, which was left lying in lanes.
“The driver of the Toyota moved his vehicle from the roadway and was in the process of calling for assistance when the driver a 2007 Chevy Trail Blazer (stopped and) angled her vehicle in front of the burro in an apparent attempt to prevent a secondary collision,” the sergeant said.
The concerned motorist, 52-year-old Jacqueline Morgan of Moreno Valley, exited her SUV “and was standing near the driver’s side door when she was struck” by a 2007 Nissan Altima driven by Hernandez, according to Grmusha.
“Upon impact, the Nissan pushed the Chevy into the parked Toyota, then careened across the roadway, where it overturned in a nearby drainage ditch,” he said.
Morgan was found severely injured on the road and taken to Riverside University Medical Center. She succumbed to her injuries four days later.
Hernandez suffered major injuries, none of which were life-threatening, and was taken to the same hospital for treatment, eventually recovering.
The Toyota driver, whose identity was not released, was not hurt, Grmusha said.
According to court records, Hernandez has three driving under the influence cases, all originating in the Coachella Valley, going back a decade that have not been disposed. He had been slated to appear for a hearing on several of them next month.