Authorities on Tuesday publicly identified a Lakeside woman killed when an SUV driven by a DUI suspect struck her as she walked along a street near Lindo Lake County Park.
Kimberly Eakin, 34, died at the scene of the crash on Woodside Avenue in Lakeside, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office.
The crash occurred shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, when a westbound 2015 Toyota Rav4 drifted off the roadway near Riverview Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The vehicle hit Eakin and also struck a metal pole, a light standard and a gate before coming to a stop, CHP public-affairs Officer Kevin Pearlstein said.
Authorities say the driver, 33-year-old Joel Joseph Silva of Julian, may have been under the influence of at least one prescription drug at the time of the accident and may have fallen asleep behind the wheel. Investigators found several medication bottles inside his SUV, Pearlstein said.
Silva was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He was being held on $100,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
— City News Service
