Officials Identify victim in Winchester Crash
Coroner’s officials have released the name of the 69-year-old Hemet woman killed during Monday’s head-on collision in Winchester that triggered the DUI arrest of the surviving driver.
Ella Anne Jefferson died at the scene of the 11:16 a.m. wreck along the eastbound lanes of Domenigoni Parkway, about three-quarters of a mile west of Leon Road.
Arrested at a hospital for investigation of driving while under the influence was 20-year-old Ryan Mahan of Menifee, said California Highway Patrol Officer Darren Meyer.
“Drugs and alcohol were considered to be a significant part of the collision,” Meyer said this morning.
The case now will reviewed to determine whether Mahan will be charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, the officer said.
The investigation began with reports of an erratic driver who was speeding and weaving through traffic while headed west on Domenigoni Parkway toward Menifee.
Before officers could intercept the motorist, the driver jumped a concrete curb and dirt divider and traveled into the eastbound fast lane where Mahan’s 2003 Saturn Ion slammed head-on into Jefferson’s gold 2011 Toyota Camry, Meyer said.
Mahan suffered two broken legs and internal injuries, Meyer said.
Both drivers were traveling alone.
Cause of the Winchester Crash
The December 26, 2011 crash investigation is ongoing by the California Highway Patrol however based on preliminary reports by the CHP the driver of the Saturn, Ryan Mahan, 20, jumped a concrete curb and dirt divider and traveled into the eastbound fast lane where Mahan’s 2003 Saturn Ion slammed head-on into a gold 2011 Toyota Camry The head-on collision killed the driver of the Toyota Camry, 69 year old Ella Anne Jefferson.
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