A motorist accused of killing a 39-year-old pedestrian in a DUI collision at a Temecula intersection was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and other offenses.
Jonathan Ruiz, 38, of Bellflower was arrested Friday night following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of David Heard of Murrieta.
Along with murder, Ruiz is charged with DUI resulting in injury or death and several sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegations.
The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center, was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Joseph Sinz, shortly before 7 p.m. Friday, Ruiz erratically drove through the intersection of Rancho California Road and Riesling Court, triggering a three-vehicle wreck that caused major damage to all of the vehicles involved.
Heard was walking within the intersection at the time and was hit, according to the sergeant.
Sinz said patrol deputies and paramedics reached the location a short time later and pronounced Heard dead at the scene.
“Two passengers from one of the vehicles were transported to a hospital in stable condition,” the sheriff’s spokesman said.
They were in recovery Wednesday.
Sinz said Ruiz, who didn’t attempt to flee and escaped injury, was confirmed by deputies to be under the influence and was taken into custody without incident.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. But information on possible convictions in other jurisdictions wasn’t available.
When a DUI murder charge is filed, it’s generally because the accused has a prior conviction for intoxicated driving or a related offense, and should have been aware of the risks involved with repeating the behavior.