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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
California woman pleads not guilty
DAVENPORT — A California woman accused of causing the fatal Interstate 90 crash that killed 22-year-old Angel A. Cuevas of George on Dec. 7, 2023 was arraigned in Lincoln County Superior Court and entered a not-guilty plea on charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault Tuesday, April 2.
Litzy Arvizo, 22, of Merced, California, faces the charges after a Washington State Patrol investigation accused her of speeding eastbound on Interstate 90 while under the influence of alcohol and losing control of a gold 2002 Saturn Vue SUV near milepost 248.8, which is about four miles east of Sprague.
The investigation says the Saturn entered the freeway median and rolled twice onto its top. The crash ultimately killed Cuevas, who succumbed to his injuries at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office report ruled that Cuevas died of blunt force injuries to the head, records state.
Arvizo suffered multiple fractures, while a second passenger, Maira A. Guillen Baeza, was also transported to Sacred Heart with fractures and hemorrhages, records state.
Arvizo faces a vehicular homicide charge for allegedly causing the death of Cuevas and a vehicular assault charge for allegedly causing substantial harm to Baeza, records state.
Urine screening found Arvizo to be positive for cannabinoids, while preliminary postmortem blood toxicology showed cocaine, ethanol and cannabis in Cuevas’s system, according to records.
Arvizo admitted to drinking between midnight and 2 a.m., while the crash was about 7:52 a.m., records state.
Baeza told the Patrol that Arvizo was driving between 80-90 mph and was attempting to pass a semitruck when the crash occurred, according to records.
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey S. Barkdull ordered that Arvizo be booked and released in Lincoln County Jail at the April 2 arraignment. A readiness hearing was set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, while an initial jury trial date was set for June 12.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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