A 32-year-old Oceanside woman has been accused of murder after allegedly intentionally running a 2019 Chevy Spark into the rear side of an occupied 2025 Tesla Y on Sunday, Nov. 1 in Rancho Cucamonga, authorities said.
Julia Kunkel is suspected of causing a three-vehicle collision at Day Creek Boulevard and Wilson Avenue on Sunday just before 9 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
“Investigators believe she was attempting to harm herself,” said Gloria Orejel, a department spokesperson, in an email. “Investigators have found no indication Kunkel knew the victims.”
The crash injured four occupants in one car: a 40-year-old woman, a 61-year-old woman, a 38-year-old man, and a 6-month-old girl.
All four were hospitalized with the 40-year-old woman, a passenger, Leslie De Belen, dying, authorities said.
Kunkel also was hospitalized with injuries from the crash.
The extent of her injuries, and those of the surviving victims, were unclear.
The driver of the involved third vehicle, a 2026 Lexus ES 300, was not injured, the Sheriff’s Department said.
It was unclear if drugs or alcohol were involved, Orejel said.
Kunkel will be arrested and booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder once she is released from the hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Department.