A 24-year-old Orange County man is facing a murder charge after authorities say he drove more than 100 mph during a fatal DUI crash.
The crash happened on April 15 on Pacific Coast Highway south of Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach.
Investigators say Lukas McHargue rear-ended 53-year-old Heather Lewis, sending her vehicle off the roadway and into the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, where it overturned and submerged. Emergency personnel extracted her from the vehicle and rushed her to a hospital, where she later died.
“Investigators determined McHargue had been driving more than 100 miles per hour shortly before the crash, at more than double the posted speed limit,” Huntington Beach police said in a statement. “Evidence also showed he had consumed alcohol and marijuana and was more than double the legal alcohol limit.”
Investigators say McHargue had previously received warnings about the dangers of impaired driving and had acknowledged that it could kill someone.
“After reviewing the case, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of murder against McHargue,” the statement said. “Under California law, a DUI-related death may be charged as murder when there is evidence the driver knew impaired driving is dangerous to human life and consciously disregarded that danger.”
Members of the Huntington Beach Police Department’s Special Investigations Bureau and Major Accident Investigation Team located and arrested McHargue on July 15.
Police booked him into the Orange County Jail, where he remains in custody without bail.
“Driving in excess of 100 miles per hour, at more than double the posted speed limit and with an alcohol level more than double the legal limit is not an accident,” Police Chief Eric Parra said. “This was a series of reckless choices that ended an innocent woman’s life.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or events leading up to it is encouraged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at 714-536-5231.
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