A Santa Clarita Valley woman named as the suspect in last week’s deadly wrong-way driving crash that claimed the life of a Fontana man, and injured two others, was arrested on suspicion of murder just after midnight Wednesday.
Nicole Thibault, 28, who for the past week has been recovering from major injuries suffered in a Jan. 22 traffic collision, was arrested on suspicion of having committed a felony in connection with the crash.
Officers at the the Baldwin Park office of the California Highway Patrol were not available Thursday to say what specific felony she is suspected of having committed.
Thibault was arrested one minute after midnight Wednesday, according to arrest records maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Inmate Information Center.
A spokeswoman at the Center told The Signal Thursday afternoon that Nicole Thibault was arrested on suspicion of violating section 187(a) of the California penal code – murder.
The same documents show she was placed in custody at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, with bail set at $2 million.
On Jan. 23, Thibault was named by California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez as the woman believed to have carjacked a truck in Riverside on Monday afternoon. The truck later crashed on the 210 freeway in Claremont.
“The suspect suffered major injuries,” Jimenez told The Signal.
Thibault was expected to be interviewed by detectives once she regained consciousness, he said shortly after the crash.
Daniel Castillo, 69, of Fontana, was killed in the fatal wrong-way driving crash.
Two other drivers hurt in the same traffic collision include a 58-year-old Fontana woman who suffered moderate injuries, and a 58-year-old Upland man.
Thibault carjacked a truck in Riverside on the afternoon of Jan. 22. The truck later crashed on the 210 freeway in Claremont, according to the CHP.
The stolen truck was seen traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of the 210 freeway when it veered into oncoming traffic, colliding with at least four other vehicles.
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