DANA POINT : 1 Killed in Suspected Drunk-Driving Case

A Dana Point man was killed and a San Clemente man suspected of drunk driving was injured Wednesday night when their car swerved out of control and tumbled about 300 feet off an embankment.

Joseph John Marszalec, 43, a passenger, was killed after being ejected from the car when it began its fall from the transition road to Interstate 5 in Capistrano Beach about 8:20 p.m., said Officer Ken Daily of the California Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, John Joseph Schulte, 37, suffered major injuries and was taken to the intensive-care unit of Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo. He was listed in serious condition with head injuries, a fractured spine and multiple cuts on Thursday.

Schulte was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter, Daily said.

The two men were riding in Schulte’s 1973 Corvette northbound on the transition road approaching the northbound Interstate 5 when it swerved back and forth across the road, struck the guardrail and went down the side, rolling over several times, Daily said. Marszalec was thrown from the vehicle as it plunged down the embankment, Daily said.

Schulte was found unconscious and pinned in the car, Daily said. He was wearing a seat belt, which Daily said probably saved his life.