Authorities have released the names of two women who died in a Hemet crash that led to the arrest of a DUI suspect over the weekend.
The Riverside County coroner identified Dane Adkins-Radford and Emily Hale, both 21-year-old residents of Hemet, as victims of the crash that happened around 4 a.m. Saturday near Florida Avenue and Kirby Street.
According to the Hemet Police Department, a Honda Fit hatchback with three people inside was stopped at a red light when a BMW 535i sedan rear-ended it without braking.
Video from the crash site showed the Honda with the back crushed into the backseats. A BMW nearby was stopped on the sidewalk, its front hood damaged and windshield shattered.
The driver and one of the passengers in the Honda died, and the other passenger was seriously hurt.
The county coroner said Adkins-Radford died at the scene while Hale was pronounced dead at Riverside University Health System Medical Center. Authorities did not disclose which one of them was driving.
The man behind the wheel of the BMW, identified as 33-year-old Jesus Rios of Downey, did not sustain any injuries.
Rios tried to leave the scene but “a witness prevented his escape,” police said. Officers later arrested him on suspicion of DUI, vehicular homicide and attempted hit-and-run.
Rios remained in jail Monday on $1 million bail, county inmate records show. His court date was set for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, family members have set up a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses for Adkins-Radford and Hale, as well as for medical expenses for the surviving victim. The page identified her as Alyssa, who “broke several bones in her right arm and right leg and has fractures in her hip and left leg.”
A message on the website said Adkins-Radford and Hale “leave behind hurting families, friends, and coworkers who loved them soo much. These girls had their whole lives ahead of them. We will miss their laughs, their silly dances and their loving personalities.”