FAIRFAX — Police arrested a driver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, for manslaughter following an accident with a bicyclist. Tragically, a woman riding a bicycle was killed on October 29.
Police arrested the driver, a local waitress, at the scene of the accident. Her car went off the road, not far from where responders found the victim fatally injured.
The accident occurred in rural Woodacre, along the shoulder of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, near Railroad Avenue. I t was there that a car hit the cyclist victim, a 63-year-old teacher, at 5:35 p.m.
The impact flung the victim, Debra DiBenedetto, up into the air, before she landed inside a roadside ditch. Unfortunately, the woman wasn’t wearing a helmet. She died shortly afterward in a hospital.
The California Highway Patrol investigated the collision. According to the CHP, the car hit the cyclist who was riding along the shoulder. The car veered of the roadway and onto the shoulder, just prior to the fatal collision.
Apparently, this tragedy resulted because the driver was intoxicated. The driver, identified as 24-year-old Paula E. Drake of Fairfax, was booked at Marin County Jail.
Drake faces open charges for the death of the cyclist. Her most serious charge is gross vehicular manslaughter while being intoxicated. Her second charge is a DUI causing an injury. She remains behind bars in lieu of $500,000 bail.
