Tyler Pitchford Arrested after Deadly Orange Crash at Tustin Street and Taft Avenue
Orange, California (May 29, 2022) – Tyler Pitchford, 31, of Orange, was arrested for DUI after a fatal crash that happened in May in Orange, according to the Orange Police Department.
The incident happened just before 10:30 p.m. on May 20, at Tustin Street and Taft Avenue.
Pitchford was driving a Kia Soul north on Tustin Street when he failed to stop for a red light at the intersection and collided with a Porsche that was trying to make a turn onto south Tustin Street.
The driver of the Porsche, Shane Lowe, 59, of Newport Beach, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Pitchford sustained critical injuries and was taken to a hospital.
Police said Pitchford's blood was tested and it came back positive for narcotics, including Fentanyl. He was arrested on murder charges after being released from hospital on Tuesday, June 28.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Crash Fatalities in California Went Up in 2021, Early Federal Estimates Show
Newly released estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that fatalities caused by traffic crashes on U.S. freeways reached a 16-year high in 2021. The crash deaths also increased in almost every state, including California, according to NHTSA.
According to the Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021 report released by NHTSA, about 42,915 people were killed in traffic collisions in 2021 in the U.S. This shows a 10.5% increase from the 38,828 fatalities reported in 2020.
NHTSA says the projection is the highest number of traffic deaths since 2005 as well as the largest percentage rise in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
In California, 4,258 people died in traffic collisions in 2021 – a 10.7% increase from 2020's 3,847, as per the NHTSA report titled – “Crash Stats: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021.”
According to the traffic deaths estimates, in the two-state region that includes Arizona and California, crash fatalities in 2021 are projected to go up by 10% over the previous year.
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