Last Updated on March 7, 2020 by CCAR Staff
A Lake Elsinore man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder after the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said he was driving under the influence in a January crash that killed two people.
Jose Luis Sepulveda, 33, of Lake Elsinore, also was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, among other charges, the Sheriff’s Department said in a Friday statement.
The crash happened on Jan. 24 in Canyon Lake near Menifee. The Sheriff’s Department said it occurred just before 10 p.m. on Railroad Canyon Road, west of Goetz Road.
A vehicle traveling east on Railroad Canyon Road rear-ended a second vehicle traveling in the same direction, the Sheriff’s Department said.
One of those two vehicles then crossed over the center divider, slamming head-on into a third vehicle traveling west on Railroad Canyon. Two people in the third vehicle died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Coroner’s officials identified those killed as Lake Elsinore residents.
Tina Slatten was 58, and was pronounced dead at 11:48 p.m. Jan. 24 at Riverside University Health Systems Medical Center, according to the office.
Benita Heyden, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene, the coroner said.
Sepulveda was arrested Thursday night and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center with a bail of $2 million. He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
