A 73-year-old Murrieta woman was killed and two other people injured in a head-on wreck caused by a suspected drunken driver, authorities said Thursday.
Belinda Baliton was fatally injured about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Hancock Avenue and Parkcrest Drive, according to the Murrieta Police Department.
Anthony Ryan Scott, 29, of Murrieta was arrested on suspicion of DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI resulting in great bodily injury for allegedly causing the collision.
Scott was booked into the Byrd Detention Center Thursday morning, but he posted a $75,000 bond and was released a few hours later.
According to Murrieta police Lt. Enrique Romero, Scott was driving on Heacock, less than a quarter-mile south of Parkcrest, when his “vehicle veered into oncoming traffic.”
The suspect’s car slammed into the one in which Baliton was a passenger, inflicting grave injuries, Romero said.
The victim was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where she died less than an hour later.
The man driving the vehicle she was in, whose identity was not disclosed, suffered major injuries and required “emergency surgery” at the same hospital. However, he’s expected to recover, according to the lieutenant.
He said that Scott’s passenger, also not identified, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was also hospitalized.
“A driving-while-impaired investigation was initiated,” Romero said. “Based on that investigation, officers formed the opinion that the driver had been operating a motor vehicle while impaired.”
Background information on Scott was unavailable.