Exeter woman dead in suspected DUI highway crash

An Exeter woman who was a passenger in a suspected drunken driver’s truck died early Sunday following a collision on Highway 99 in Tulare County.

The Chevy truck was heading south on the highway shortly before 1 a.m. near the Avenue 280 exit when the vehicle veered off the right shoulder. The truck drove up a grass embankment, rolled over and hit the concrete wall of an overcrossing.

The driver, Janie Luna, 38, of Tulare, was able to get out of the vehicle and was taken to Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia for critical injuries. The passenger, 37-year-old Angelique Rivas, 37, of Exeter, was pinned in the vehicle and died at the scene, authorities said.

Luna was arrested for suspicion of intoxicated driving. The incident is being investigated.

This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Exeter woman dead in suspected DUI highway crash."