The Valley Chronicle - Excessive speed, suspected DUI in Hemet kills t

[caption id="attachment_7511" align="alignright" width="576"] Photos by John Strangis/The Valley Chronicle
This Dodge truck ran through a wrought-iron fence and landed in someone’s front yard after colliding with a Volkswagen that ran a stop sign on Nov. 23.[/caption] ■ John Strangis / Contributed A suspected drunken driver in a Volkswagen sedan was allegedly speeding through streets in Hemet at up to 100 mph moments before he ran a stop sign and slammed into cross traffic, killing himself and his female passenger on Nov. 23. Two people in a Dodge truck hit by the speeding Volkswagen survived. Police were called just before 2 a.m. to Buena Vista Street and Whittier Avenue, and found a Volkswagen that was “partially wrapped around a tree” just west of the intersection. The Dodge truck collided into a fence northwest of the intersection, said Hemet police Lt. Eric Dickson. The two people in the Volkswagen, identified by Riverside County Coroner’s officials as Margaret Avina, 33, of Hemet, and Nicolas Macias, 22, of Hemet, were pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Coroner’s release, they died within minutes of the collision. The man driving the truck was not injured and his female passenger was transported to a hospital; she was expected to recover from her injuries, according to Dickson. According to a witness at the scene who lives just a few doors away from where the collision occurred, there was no screeching of brakes, “just a big boom,” when the vehicles collided. An investigation revealed that the Volkswagen was speeding between 90 to 100 mph westbound on Whittier Avenue when it ran a stop sign and struck the front corner of the Dodge truck, he said. A field sobriety test was performed on the driver of the Dodge. “At this time it is believed that alcohol may have been a factor with the Volkswagen and that the driver of the Dodge may have been impaired as well,” Dickson said. “However, the investigation is ongoing.” Hemet police have asked anyone who saw the collision to call them at 951-765-2400. [caption id="attachment_7510" align="aligncenter" width="576"] This Volkswagen was partially wrapped around a tree after colliding with a Dodge truck on Nov. 23. Both people in the Volkswagen died.[/caption]