Tulare jury: Man guilty of murder in 2017 DUI crash that killed his woman passenger

A Tulare County jury late Friday convicted Jesus Suazo, 27, of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and felony DUI in a May 2017 crash that killed his female passenger.

Authorities said Suazo, of Pixley, was traveling about 100 mph when he lost control of his car about 1 a.m. May 13, 2017 on Highway 99 near Tulare. It drifted off the roadway north of Avenue 200, sliced through a fence and plowed into farm equipment at a rental yard.

The 27-year-old woman was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Suazo ran from the wreckage but was captured hiding in nearby farm equipment.

He had a prior DUI conviction from 2014, and was eligible for the murder charge because of California law.

He will be sentenced in December.

This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 1:38 PM.