A makeshift memorial has appeared at the Pleasant Hill intersection where a 41-year-old woman was killed earlier this month in a crash that prosecutors say involved an allegedly intoxicated Concord driver who fled the scene.
Photos taken by the Bay Area Telegraph show flowers, candles, stuffed animals, and small flags arranged on the median at Contra Costa Boulevard and Taylor Boulevard — the same intersection where authorities say the fatal collision happened around 1:49 a.m. on March 8.
According to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, 45-year-old Angelina Marina Solis of Concord has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more causing injury, and leaving the scene of an accident.
Prosecutors say Solis was driving northbound on Contra Costa Boulevard when she ran a red light at Taylor Boulevard and struck the victim, who was in a marked crosswalk with another person. The other person was not injured, according to the DA.
Pleasant Hill police previously said officers responded to reports of a fatal hit-and-run at that same intersection and later located the suspected vehicle, described as a dark-colored Mazda SUV, parked and unoccupied in Concord. Police then identified and arrested Solis, according to law enforcement statements reported at the time.
The identity of the woman killed has also become public through later reporting and court documents. She was identified as Timarie Rachelle Orso, 41, a Pleasant Hill resident.
There has been some confusion in public reporting about whether Orso was walking or riding a bicycle when she was struck. Initial reports and some news coverage described the victim as a bicyclist, while the later DA statement says she was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk with another individual. At this point, the DA’s charging document is the clearest official description of the circumstances, though the discrepancy remains notable.
Solis entered not guilty pleas to all charges and denied all enhancements at her court appearance this week, according to the DA’s office. Her bail was set at $350,000, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for March 27 in Martinez.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
