Saturday, January 2, 2016

Lyft driver killed in suspected DUI crash on New Year's Day in Hawthorne, California








By ABC7.com staff
Saturday, January 02, 2016 09:32AM
HAWTHORNE, Calif. (KABC) -- A 21-year-old Lyft driver was killed New Year's Day by a driver suspected to have been under the influence.

Around 2:55 a.m. on Jan. 1, Hawthorne police responded to the intersection of 120th Street and Doty Avenue to check on a traffic collision.

During the preliminary investigation, officers learned a 2003 red Infiniti coup broadsided a 2015 black Ford Fusion. The Lyft driver in the Fusion was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers from the South Bay DUI Task Force responded to the scene and conducted a DUI examination on the Infiniti driver, 21-year-old Hawthorne resident Arturo Martinez Conchas.

After the exam, he was arrested for vehicular manslaughter, DUI and possession of illegal drugs. He was taken to the hospital for medical clearance and then booked at the Hawthorne Police Department jail. His bail is set at $100,000.

No further information was immediately available. The Lyft driver's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.