Motorist Questioned After Hit-Run Victim Discovered
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DANA POINT — Investigators were questioning a motorist Saturday after a 45-year-old man was found dead near Pacific Coast Highway, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run accident, authorities said.
A woman later returned to the accident scene. Jenny Noel Tittle, 19, of Dana Point told investigators that she fell asleep behind the wheel of her car on the way home Friday night, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Rex Hatch said.
“She said that although she was aware that she had run off the road, she wasn’t aware that she had hit anybody,” Hatch said.
At 7:45 a.m., a pedestrian on a morning walk found the body of Jose Jimenez Gutierrez sprawled on the northbound shoulder of PCH south of Niguel Road, Hatch said. He had been walking home from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point, where he worked as a cook.
Tittle was questioned and later released Saturday as authorities continued to investigate the accident, Hatch said.
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