Driver In Fatal Southwest Riverside Head-On-Crash Pleads Not Guilty

WILDOMAR, CA — A 25-year-old man accused of driving drunk and causing a head-on wreck in Winchester that killed a woman and seriously injured a man re-entered not guilty pleas Friday to second-degree murder and other charges.

Willie Eddie Salazar of Wildomar additionally re-entered not guilty pleas to one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol with .08% or more causing bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of driving with a license that was suspended and revoked for DUI, according to court records. He also denied a sentence-enhancing allegation of causing great bodily injury.

He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied the allegation Aug. 1, 2022 at the Banning Justice Center. At the end of a preliminary hearing Sept. 14, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam ruled that there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Salazar on the charges and allegation.

He re-entered not guilty pleas to the charges and denied the allegation Friday morning. He also had a trial-readiness conference scheduled for Dec. 11.

Salazar was allegedly at the wheel of a Honda Civic that allegedly slammed into a Chevrolet Malibu on Domenigoni Parkway, just east of Patterson Avenue, on the night of April 29, 2022.

Sahtarria Anderson, 32, of Menifee was fatally injured, and her friend, identified only as a 31-year-old Hemet man, suffered major injuries, from which he has since recovered.

Salazar is being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on $1 million bail.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Montez, the defendant was allegedly driving his Honda, going the wrong way on eastbound Domenigoni Parkway, when he approached the Malibu, driven by Anderson's friend as she sat in the right front passenger seat.

"The Honda and Chevrolet were involved in a head-on crash," Montez said.

It wasn't clear how fast each vehicle was traveling.

Paramedics reached the location minutes later and treated the defendant and two victims, all of whom were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

Anderson succumbed to her injuries the following day.

Salazar was hospitalized for more than a week before being transferred into county jail.

Court records show he pleaded guilty in February 2022 to misdemeanor DUI, receiving a month-long jail sentence and a 36-month term of probation, with a requirement that he attend classes on the dangers of drinking and driving.

It was unclear whether he enrolled in the program. Regardless, under California law, if a DUI offender admits or is convicted of driving while intoxicated, he or she can be charged with murder for causing a death directly tied to a subsequent DUI collision.

According to court documents, Salazar additionally has a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.