Last Updated on December 5, 2021 by CCAR Staff
A Riverside woman was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence Saturday, Dec. 4, after another motorist died in a head-on collision in Menifee.
Two others were injured in the collision. A third car struck a tire that was sheared off in the crash, but no one in that car was injured, Menifee police Capt. Dave Gutierrez said Sunday.
The crash was reported at 6:15 p.m. in the 27000 block of Encanto Drive, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. The investigation shows that Sandra Barber, 57, of Riverside, was driving south on Encanto when she veered into the northbound lanes, where her car struck another, Gutierrez said.
Guillermina Maria Gonzalez, 37, of Perris, was driving the northbound car and died at the scene, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office said.
One seriously injured patient and one patient with minor injuries were hospitalized, Cal Fire said. Gutierrez said the latter victim was Gonzalez’s minor daughter.
Barber was booked into Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on the felony charges. She was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail, jail records show.
Menifee police try to take drunken drivers off the streets through patrols and checkpoints, and with the availability of rideshare services and designated drivers, collisions such as Saturday’s are “100% preventable,” Gutierrez said.
