Hermosa Beach Police Beat
DUI suspected in fatal crash
A Hawthorne woman involved in a high-speed car accident that killed another woman last week may have been intoxicated during the crash, police said.
Hermosa Beach Police Department officers arrived at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Artesia Boulevard shortly after 2 a.m. last Wednesday to find two totaled cars. The driver of one was severely injured and pronounced dead at the scene. The other was taken to a hospital for treatment of “minor to moderate injuries,” said HBPD Sgt. Robert Higgins.
Los Angeles resident Brianna Pugh, 24, died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” according to the Los Angeles County Coroner-Medical Examiner. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but Pugh’s car, a 2015 Honda Civic, had run into a pole at the intersection’s northeast corner.
The survivor, Melanie Azanero, a 21-year-old Hawthorne resident, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter after being treated for her injuries. In a statement issued last week, Higgins said that police believed “Driving Under the Influence is a factor in the collision.” According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Azanero was released on $130,000 bond the evening after the crash.