A California peace officer was killed after colliding with an accused drunk driver, marking his fifth DUI.
On Friday in Santa Rosa, California, Jessica Avila Munoz, 31, a peace officer for the Sonoma County Probation Department, was involved in a fatal accident, according to CBS News Bay Area.
Munoz was struck by a truck while turning from Lombardi Court onto eastbound Sebastopol Road in her white Honda. The truck driver, Nhan Van Nguyen, 68, is accused of running a red light, according to police.
The impact caused Munoz’s Honda to collide with a third vehicle, a Prius, leaving her trapped inside her car. The Prius driver was uninjured and remained at the scene.
Firefighters extracted Munoz from her vehicle, but she later died at the hospital. Munoz was on her way to pick up her 13-year-old daughter at the time of the accident.
According to KRON 4, law enforcement assessed Nguyen and determined he was under the influence. They also discovered he had four prior DUIs.
“The investigator determined that the driver, identified as Nhan Van Nguyen, a 68-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision. As the investigation continued, it was discovered that Nguyen had four prior arrests for DUI. He also had a suspended driver’s license,” said the Santa Rosa Police Department.
Nguyen was taken to the hospital and released with no injuries. He was later booked into the Sonoma County Jail for gross vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI causing great bodily injury.
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[Featured image: Jessica Avila Munoz/Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association]
