Authorities Release Name of Pedestrian Killed Near Base

Authorities today released the name of a homeless woman who was struck and killed by an SUV on Old Pacific Highway, near San Onofre State Beach.

Judith Leach, 48, walked into the path of a southbound 1992 Jeep Cherokee near Basilone Road about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the county Medical Examiner's Office and California Highway Patrol. She died at the scene of the accident.

The 56-year-old motorist, an employee at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, told investigators he was on his way to work and traveling at about 35 mph when the woman crossed directly in front of his vehicle from the west, CHP public-affairs Officer Jim Bettencourt said.

Leach, a former Alta Loma resident, had been known to frequent the area, according to Bettencourt. Her death was ruled an accident.

—City News Service