Woman denies fatal SUV-bicycle impact

A driver pleaded not guilty Friday to hitting and killing a bicyclist on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach while under the influence of prescription medication.

Patricia Ann Izquieta, 37, of Riverside, is charged with felony hit and run, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and misdemeanor driving without a valid license. The charges carry an enhanced sentencing provision for allegedly causing great bodily injury.

Prosecutors claim Izquieta was under the influence of Methadone, an opiate used to suppress addiction, and Clonezepam, an anti-anxiety medication that relaxes the muscles, about 6 a.m. Dec. 9 when she drifted from the far-right lane of northbound Jamboree Road into the bike line, fatally hitting bicyclist Donald Murphy as he rode down the street.

Murphy toppled over the hood and onto the sidewalk as Izquieta continued on, dragging his bicycle under her Saturn SUV for more than a mile, prosecutors said.

She did not call police but stopped down the road in a Coco’s Bakery Restaurant where police found and arrested her, authorities said.

Murphy died a day later in the hospital.

Izquieta faces up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted on all charges. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 16.

— Joseph Serna