Crime & Safety
UPDATE: 1 Person Dead in Suspected DUI Crash in Menifee
One victim was confirmed dead at the scene of a traffic accident reported around 12:30 p.m. at McCall Boulevard and Encanto Drive in Menifee. Two others were injured in the crash.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:20 p.m. with information from the Menifee Police Department.
One person was killed and two others were injured today in a crash in Menifee in which a mother is suspected of driving drunk.
The collision was reported around 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of Encanto Drive and McCall Boulevard, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
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Firefighters had to cut the victims out of the vehicle.
One victim—an 86-year-old Menifee woman—died at the scene, according to a sheriff's statement.
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Another person was seriously injured and a third had minor injuries.
Menifee police responded to investigate the crash, learning that a Chevrolet sports utility vehicle had collided with a Saturn at the intersection of Encanto and McCall.
Two Menifee residents were in the Saturn, which was making a left turn from eastbound McCall to northbound Encanto, Menifee police Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez said in a news release.
The Saturn was struck by the SUV, which was traveling westbound on McCall, as the driver allegedly entered the intersection against a red light, Rodriguez said.
The police investigation revealed the driver of the SUV, Melissa Dean-Baumann, 37, of Fallbrook, had been distracted by her 3-year-old child who was in the back seat, Rodriguez said.
It was further determined that Dean-Baumann was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol, the sergeant said.
Dean-Baumann was booked at Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of felony DUI, manslaughter and felony child endangerment.
The name of the victim was being withheld until her next of kin was notified.
