On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, a Riverside woman pleaded guilty in front of an Orange County Superior Court Judge regarding a fatal Orange County bicycle crash that occurred on December 9, 2009.
The deadly accident happened around 6 a.m. on the morning of December 9th, when Patricia Ann Izquieta, 38, was driving north on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach. She was driving her Saturn SUV in the right lane when she hit a bicyclist who was riding next to the curb. Her vehicle sustained damage to the windshield and front hood of the car.
However, she kept driving for more than a mile before she stopped. The bicycle was dragged under the vehicle that entire length of time.
Sadly, Donald Murphy, the 49-year-old bicyclist, was killed in this hit-and-run crash. He died one day later, due to the catastrophic injuries he sustained.
When police arrived on the scene, they found Izquieta still sitting in her car. She had been taking prescription drugs before getting behind the wheel of her vehicle. The medicine included Clonazepam, Hydromorphone, and Methadone, which can negatively impact someone’s driving.
Izquieta pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony hit-and-run with death, and misdemeanor driving without a valid license. O.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald offered a lower prison sentence of three years in exchange for a guilty plea. Formal sentencing will occur on March 11, 2011.
We are saddened to hear of this tragic accident, and send our condolences to the victim’s family and friends.