On Monday, September 30, 2024, just after midnight, the Huntington Beach Police Department responded to a traffic collision involving a vehicle and Kristin Bellovich, a 51-year-old transient who was on a bike, at Beach Boulevard and Glencoe Drive.
The vehicle, a grey 2023 Ford Bronco, fled the scene but was quickly located by police officers, and the driver, Elias Madriz Gutierrez, a 68-year-old male from Orange, was detained.
Upon arrival, officers located the bicyclist, a 51-year-old female from Costa Mesa, unresponsive at the scene. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.
Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears the bicyclist was traveling southbound in the #4 lane of Beach Boulevard, north of Glencoe Drive when she was struck from behind by the Ford, which was also traveling southbound in the same lane.
Gutierrez was arrested for second-degree murder, hit-and-run, and driving under the influence.
Gutierrez has two prior DUI convictions, one in April 2018 and the other in January 2009, according to court records. Prosecutors will as such be able to consider filing an upgraded charge from manslaughter to second-degree murder.
The collision investigation is ongoing and being handled by the HBPD Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it is encouraged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator V. Rattanchandani at (714) 536-5231.
