Man arrested in fatal crash on Hwy. 111
A 27-year-old man was arrested after walking away from a rollover crash on Highway 111 that killed one of his passengers and critically injured another, authorities said Sunday.
Jose Melcher Felix of Thermal is believed to be the driver of a late-model Jeep Cherokee that overturned south of Tyler Street about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, said Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Frank Taylor.
Two passengers were ejected from the car, including Manuel Breton, 23, of Indio, who died an hour later at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to coroner’s officials. Another man, in his late 20s, was hospitalized at the medical center in “very critical condition,” Taylor said.
Authorities did not say whether the men were wearing seat belts.
Felix was arrested by Coachella police Saturday afternoon and booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of a traffic collision and driving without a valid license.
-- Hector Becerra
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