Huntington Beach police on Monday arrested a Long Beach woman they believe struck three bicyclists — killing one man and injuring two others — before fleeing the scene after an early morning DUI collision on Pacific Coast Highway.
The incident took place shortly after 6:45 a.m., when police were called to a stretch of the highway just north of PCH and Newland Street and found three adult men and their mangled bicycles in and near southbound lanes of the roadway, according to a news release.
One of the cyclists was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two were transported to a nearby hospital with severe injuries, police reported.
The driver of the suspect vehicle, a gold 2006 Mercedes Benz E-Class, initially fled the scene but stopped about one-half mile from where the collision took place.
The motorist — identified as Amber Calderon, 43, of Long Beach — was arrested by officers and later booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run, felony DUI, and possession of narcotics.
The Orange County coroner’s office just hours after the incident had not yet released the name of the man killed, pending identification of his next of kin. The identities and conditions of the injured cyclists were not immediately available.
As of 11 a.m., all southbound lanes of PCH, from Beach Boulevard to Newland Street, remained closed to vehicle traffic to accommodate the investigation, according to HBPD spokesman Corbin Carson.
The department’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is handling the investigation. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or events leading up to it is encouraged to contact Huntington Beach police at (714) 536-5670.
Southbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway, from Beach Boulevard to Newland Street, remain closed Monday following a DUI that killed one cyclist and injured two others.
(Screenshot by Sara Cardine)