Man arrested after drunken hit-and-run in Huntington Beach, killing cyclist

Huntington Beach police arrested a 68-year-old Orange resident Monday on suspicion of second-degree murder and drunken driving after he allegedly struck and killed a bicyclist near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Glencoe Drive, officials reported .

The incident occurred after midnight when first responders were called to the scene and found the bicyclist, a 51-year-old woman, unresponsive, according to a release from the Huntington Beach Police Department on Monday.

She was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Matthew Parrish said Monday that officials with the Orange County coroner's office identified the woman as Kristin Bellovich, whose city of residence was unknown.

The driver of the gray 2023 Ford Bronco who reportedly struck the bicyclist fled the scene after the accident but was later found by police, the release said.

The driver of that vehicle, Elias Madriz Gutierrez, was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence resulting in bodily injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, according to HBPD's online arrest log.

Gutierrez is currently being held in an Orange County jail. He was previously convicted in 2018 of two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence stemming from an incident on Feb. 18 of that year and was sentenced to three years probation, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

The investigation into the accident is being conducted by the Huntington Beach Police Department's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team. Anyone who witnessed the collision or events leading up to it is asked to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at (714) 536-5231.