Police in Huntington Beach today were investigating a collision involving a suspected impaired driver that took the life of a 54-year-old Long Beach woman when her car was rear-ended before becoming partially submerged in a wetlands area.
The crash was reported about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday on Pacific Coast Highway south of Warner Avenue, according to Jessica Cuchilla, public affairs officer with the Huntington Beach Police Department.
A silver Kia Soul and a white BMW 328i collided, sending the Kia into the marsh, she said.
“HBPD officers, along with Huntington Beach Lifeguards who were also called to the scene, extracted a 54-year-old woman from Long Beach from the Kia,” Cuchilla said. “Paramedics were called to the scene, and she was transported to a local hospital, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries.”
The driver of the BMW, a 24-year-old man from Long Beach, was contacted and taken into custody by officers who suspect he was impaired at the time of the crash, she said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the Kia was traveling northbound on PCH when it was struck from behind by the BMW, also traveling northbound on PCH, sending the Kia into the wetlands,” according to Cuchilla.
The collision is being investigated by the HBPD Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, and anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it was urged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator V. Rattanchandani at 714-960-5231.