A man arrested for allegedly driving under the influence may face more charges as his victim was taken off of life support on Monday afternoon.
According to the San Luis Obispo Police Department, officers responded to a collision involving a vehicle and pedestrian in the 600 block of Higuera Street around 6:04 p.m. last Friday, June 19.
The vehicle driven by the suspect, Dennis Whittinghill, 63, of Los Osos was turning westbound onto Higuera Street from Broad Street and struck a pedestrian, Alvino Figueroa, 89, who was transported to Sierra Vista Hospital by ambulance to be treated for severe injuries. Since being at the hospital, he was reportedly removed from life support, and at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, passed away peacefully.
At the time of the collision, Whittinghill was arrested for felony DUI at the scene, and later posted bail. However, SLOPD forwarded his case since the victim’s passing to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office for potential vehicular homicide or other charges.
