Local News in Brief : Tustin : Woman, 74, Arrested in Death of Bicyclist

A 74-year-old woman was arrested on charges of hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter in the death of a man struck by a car Sunday while walking his bicycle in a bike lane on Irvine Boulevard in Tustin, a California Highway patrol officer said.

Martha Spencer of Irvine was booked into Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, CHP Officer Joe Morrison said. The identity of the victim, described as a 30-year-old man from Irvine, was not immediately known, he said.

Spencer was arrested by CHP officers after witnesses telephoned police with the description and license number of a car that fled the scene, Morrison said. Witnesses told officers that they pursued the hit-run vehicle, catching up to it at a stop light.

“The witnesses at a light got out and approached her,” Morrison said. “She refused to return to the scene of the accident and drove off.”

The accident occurred at 2:35 p.m. as the victim was walking his bicycle east on Irvine Boulevard east of Red Hill Avenue in Tustin. The driver of the car was also eastbound, driving about 65 m.p.h., when the driver entered the bike lane, Morrison said. The boulevard’s speed limit is 45 m.p.h.