A 71-year-old woman was fatally struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking on a sidewalk in Murrieta, authorities said Thursday.
Gloria Henry of Murrieta was struck about 8:10 a.m. Wednesday on Clinton Keith Road, just east of Via Mariposa, according to the Murrieta Police Department.
Rodney Wayne Phillips, 57, of Hemet, was arrested for allegedly hitting her while driving drunk.
According to Murrieta police Lt. Spencer Parker, Henry was walking along the sidewalk on the north side of Clinton Keith when Phillips approached at the wheel of a full-size pickup truck in westbound lanes, traveling at an undetermined speed.
“Through witness statements, investigators learned that the suspect drove onto the sidewalk and struck the victim,” Parker said. “He then fled the scene.”
Henry was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where she died less than an hour later.
Patrol officers searched the area and located Phillips’ pickup three blocks away, with him still in it, according to Parker.
He said the suspect was arrested without incident and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run resulting in death. Phillips is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.
No background information on the suspect was available.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information was asked to contact the police department at 951-304-2677.