Man Admits To Killing Woman in 2023 Cathedral City Christmas Day DUI Wreck

An unlicensed motorist who killed a woman and injured
three others in a driving under the influence collision in Cathedral City on
Christmas Day pleaded guilty today to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter.
  

Angel Gabriel Torres Hernandez of Cathedral City admitted the felony
count, along with a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation, under a
plea agreement Thursday with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop two related counts
and sentence enhancements against Hernandez.
  

Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini scheduled a sentencing hearing for
Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
  

The defendant is being held without bail at the Benoit Detention Center.
  

According to the Cathedral City Police Department, the deadly wreck
occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on Dec. 25, 2023.
  

Hernandez was driving northbound on Date Palm Drive when he veered
into southbound lanes while attempting to make a turn onto Varner Road, plowing
into two southbound cars because he was heavily intoxicated, police said.
  

One of the drivers, identified in court documents only as ``Enma C.,''
was fatally injured in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene by
paramedics. Occupants of the other vehicle, two women and a man -- ``A.B.,''
``J.Z.'' and ``E.S.'' -- suffered minor to moderate injuries, according to
investigators.
  

Hernandez fled the scene but was apprehended minutes later without
incident by patrol officers.
  

He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

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