Alcohol may have been factor in fatal crash

Investigators from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office believe alcohol may have been a factor in a single-vehicle accident Wednesday night on Mittry Lake Road that killed one woman and injured at least one of the three passengers.

According to Capt. Eben Bratcher, a spokesman for the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, shortly after 7 p.m. deputies responded to a report of a single-vehicle accident involving a silver 2007 Nissan Altima in the Mittry Lake area.

Bratcher said the Nissan had been traveling westbound on Mittry Lake Road, which runs along the lake in some places, when the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to slide sideways off the road and roll into the lake.

The Nissan was being driven by 23-year-old Maria Celina Rubio-Morales of Las Vegas, Bratcher said. Rubio-Morales was trapped in the car and was removed by a passer-by before deputies arrived on scene.

Once on scene, a deputy performed CPR on Rubio-Morales until a Rural Metro ambulance arrived and transported her to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.

Jose Samuel Gonzalez-Gonzales, 52, of San Luis, Ariz., was a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle and was transported to YRMC by Rural/Metro Ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries.

Maria C. Talamantes, 41, of Yuma, and Martin A Guzman-Santibanez, 26, of Yuma, were rear-seat passengers in the vehicle. Both were taken to YRMC by Rural/Metro ambulance as a precaution and were subsequently released.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation, but accident investigators say alcohol appears to be a factor.

“There were indicators at the scene,” Bratcher said. “We are currently awaiting forensic results on the driver's blood.”

YCSO asks anyone with any information concerning this investigation to call 783-4427.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.