From Niesha Lofing:
A North Highlands man is facing felony drunken driving and other charges after crashing his sport utility vehicle Saturday on a levee road, a collision that killed his girlfriend.
Charles Garcia, 29, was driving his gray 2004 Dodge Durango at 11:25 p.m. Saturday when the crash occurred on Elkhorn Boulevard, west of East Levee Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Lizz Dutton stated in a news release.
Garcia was westbound on Elkhorn, going about 45 mph, when the vehicle crossed over the eastbound lane and went over an embankment, she said.
The left rear of the SUV spun around and collided with the embankment.
Garcia's girlfriend was sitting in the front passenger seat and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, Dutton said.
The woman was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where she died from injuries sustained in the crash. The woman's identity is not yet being released, pending notification of her family.
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving, gross vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended license. Garcia's drivers license has a restriction on it that requires him to have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, but the vehicle he was driving was not registered to him, Dutton said.
The CHP is investigating the crash.









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