Last Updated on February 8, 2022 by CCAR Staff
RIVERSIDE — A convicted felon is accused of causing a head-on collision that killed a 65-year-old woman while he was allegedly driving drunk in Mead Valley.
Lawrence Michael Dileva, 38, of Nuevo, is charged with second-degree murder, DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and a sentence-enhancing allegation of being a repeat DUI offender for the Jan. 28 wreck on Cajalco Road, just east of Carpinus Drive.
Dileva was not immediately taken into custody because he was hospitalized. However, the middle of last week, he was formally arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, where he was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
The defendant made his initial court appearance Thursday and was appointed a public defender by Riverside County Superior Court Judge O.G. Magno, who scheduled his arraignment for Feb. 18 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Dileva allegedly killed Demiris Reid of Nuevo in the three-vehicle crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Juan Quintero said Reid was westbound on Cajalco in a Chevrolet Equinox when Dileva’s Ford Explorer approached from the opposite direction, headed east.
“Dileva lost control of his vehicle and crossed the double yellow lines, colliding into the Chevy,” Quintero said.
He said a Honda Civic following close behind the Ford smashed into the rear of the SUV.
County fire crews reached the location, which is roughly two miles northwest of Perris, within a few minutes and extricated Reid from her car, attempting life-saving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The defendant was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment of moderate injuries. The Honda driver was not injured, according to Quintero.
Both sides of Cajalco were closed for more than four hours after the crash while the wreckage was cleared and a preliminary investigation was conducted.
According to court records, Dileva has prior convictions for DUI gross vehicular manslaughter, receiving a stolen vehicle, burglary and distribution of illegal drugs.
