Officers identify drunk driver who killed Nipomo woman
February 25, 2026
By KAREN VELIE
Investigators identified the drunk driver who killed a Nipomo woman Saturday evening in a hit-and-run crash in Santa Maria as 30-year-old Juan Ortiz Mendoza.
Shortly before midnight on Saturday, a vehicle crashed into 46-year-old Maria Juarez Moreno as she walked across the intersection of Bunny Avenue and Blosser Road. Emergency responders pronounced Moreno dead at the scene.
Mendoza fled the scene immediately after the collision.
Officers later identified, arrested and booked Mendoza into the Santa Barbara County North Jail on multiple felony charges including drunk driving and hit-and-run resulting in death. He remains in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
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