Rafaela Ruiz Car Accident, Death – It has been determined that the woman, who was 27 years old and was struck and killed by a Riverside County deputy while he was behind the wheel of his patrol vehicle on Thursday, was a resident of the city of Moreno Valley. According to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Bureau, Rafaela Salazar-Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident on Cactus Avenue, just west of Heacock Street. The location of the crash was in Riverside.
According to the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff’s department, the incident that resulted in the death of a person took place in the area of March Air Reserve Base just before 4 a.m., approximately a block from the base’s east entrance. According to the statement sent by the sheriff’s office, “the deputy was not operating his vehicle in an emergency response mode at the time of the collision.”
According to the preliminary evidence, the victim was walking on Cactus when they were struck by the patrol SUV. Cactus does not have any marked crosswalks on the street. According to the statement released by the Sheriff’s Department, “deputies immediately rendered medical aid to the pedestrian until paramedics arrived.” The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the site by the responding paramedics. The deputy did not sustain any injuries.
According to a long-standing policy of the sheriff’s department, the California Highway Patrol is in charge of the investigation. According to this policy, the agency is tasked with supervising independent investigations whenever sheriff’s vehicles are engaged in traffic-related events that result in property damage, injuries, or deaths.
