La Quinta woman suspected in fatal hit and run - The Desert Sun
A La Quinta woman is suspected of leaving the scene of a traffic collision that left a man dead Saturday near Pinyon Pines. Mary Jane Ann Plante, 46, was going east on Highway 74 when she collided with the victim at Carrizo Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. She crossed the center divider and her 2005 Toyota Tundra struck the victim's 1999 Nissan Maxima, which was heading west. The Nissan's driver, who was only identified as a 64-year-old Escondido man, was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. On Sunday, a witness identified Plante as the Toyota's driver, according to the CHP. Officers found her about 12 p. m. at the Lake Hemet Market while she waited for a friend to pick her up. Plante was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, hit and run and gross vehicular manslaughter. She is being held in lieu of $7,500 bail at the Riverside County Jail in Indio, according to jail records. That's up from nine collisions in 2014. The Pinyon Pines collision was the region's second traffic fatality on July 4. At about 9:30 a. m. , a 57-year-old Carson man crashed on westbound Interstate 10 near Frontage Road. The man, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at. Source: www.desertsun.com
