UPDATE – The name of the female driver has been identified as 33-year-old Melissa Katherine Marie Patania. The names, ages and condition of the juveniles are still being withheld.
SONORA, Calif. (KTXL) — A woman died and four children were injured Monday when a 19-year-old suspected drunken driver crashed head-on into their SUV on a Sonora road.
Around 6:15 p.m., Augustus Matthew Marinovich was speeding down westbound Phoenix Lake Road in a 2002 Toyota pickup truck, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP says the 19-year-old Sonora man was near Bear Cub Drive when he lost control of the truck and swerved into a 1996 Suzuki SUV, hitting it head-on.
The 33-year-old Sonora woman behind the wheel of the SUV died at the scene, according to the CHP.
Four children who were passengers in the SUV sustained major injuries and had to be flown to UC Davis Medical Center.
The CHP says Marinovich was also seriously injured and flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.
At the time of the crash, the CHP says the 19-year-old was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. Once he is released from the hospital, he will face charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.
The identity of the woman who died has not been released.