A 39-year-old convicted drunk driver was behind bars Thursday on suspicion of a DUI collision that killed a 19-year-old pedestrian in Orange.
Sitani Pinomi was being held without bail on suspicion of vehicular murder, according to Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.
The victim — identified by the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s Department as 19-year-old Aden Uriostegui of Orange — was returning home from his job at Starbucks about 10 p.m. Wednesday, crossing the street with the right of way in a crosswalk when he was struck by a F-250 Ford pickup, McMullin said.
The collision happened at Tustin Street and Heim Avenue, where Pinomi allegedly ran a red light and “showed signs of impairment,” he said.
Pinomi’s license was suspended due to a prior DUI and he was convicted in 2007 of driving under the influence in Los Angeles County, McMullin said.
The prior DUI conviction can be used by prosecutors to upgrade charges from vehicular manslaughter to second-degree murder.
