Costa Mesa DUI crash: 1 killed, 1 hospitalized

Sunday, June 1, 2014
A Kia Optima is seen after an alleged drunk driver slammed into it in Costa Mesa on Saturday, May 31, 2014.
A Kia Optima is seen after an alleged drunk driver slammed into it in Costa Mesa on Saturday, May 31, 2014.
KABC-KABC

COSTA MESA, Calif. (KABC) -- A young woman is dead and a 26-year-old man is hospitalized after an alleged drunk driver plowed into their car in Costa Mesa.

The crash happened shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday near Harbor Boulevard and the northbound 405 Freeway. The suspect, 22-year-old Brandon Anthony Alvarez of Anaheim, was first involved in a hit-and-run moments before he slammed into a Kia Optima.

Driver Marcela Pacheco Garciaguirre, a 23-year-old woman from Irvine, was killed instantly. Her male passenger, also from Irvine, was hospitalized. They have not yet been identified.

Police say at least a dozen beer cans that came from Alvarez's Nissan Titan were found at the scene.

Alvarez is currently at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say he will be arrested and charged on felony driving under the influence of alcohol upon his release. In addition, he will be charged with felony hit and run for the first collision.

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