Gardena, CA : Vista man suspected of DUI, arrested in fatal Gardena rear-end collision on Sunday, 22nd December, 2019

Police suspect a Vista man may have been driving under the influence of alcohol Sunday, Dec. 22, when his sports car slammed into the back of a sedan in Gardena, leaving one person dead and another seriously injured.

The crash was reported at 4:41 a.m. near Artesia Boulevard and Normandie Avenue, the Gardena Police Department said in a news release. A black Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution heading east on Artesia plowed into the back of a gray Honda Civic that was moving in the same direction. The vehicle that was struck traveled into the intersection and ran into a traffic signal in the center median.

Observations from the scene suggest that the force of the collision caused a small folding ladder in the Honda to hit the back of the head or neck of a man in its front passenger seat, GPD Sgt. Rodney Gonsalves said. First responders found him lying in the roadway next to the Honda, where he was pronounced dead. The woman who was driving was seriously injured and taken to Harbor UCLA Medical Center.

Jonathan Salazar, 24, of Vista was driving the Mitsubishi and its only occupant, Gonsalves said. The motorist was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and other unspecified felony offenses. He was held in lieu of $100,000 bail as of Sunday afternoon and scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, Dec. 24, according to inmate records.

The identity of the man who died was withheld pending the notification of his family. The crash was under investigation.

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