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Family of bicyclist killed in suspected DUI crash speaks out

A suspected drunken driver has been arrested in San Diego County after she allegedly struck and killed a bicyclist, then tried to escape by hiding in some bushes.
Family of bicyclist killed in suspected DUI crash speaks out

CARLSBAD (CNS/CBS 8) - A young woman was jailed Thursday on suspicion of manslaughter, drunken driving and hit-and-run in the death of a 64-year-old cyclist in Carlsbad.

Arthur John Jacobs of Vista was fatally struck while riding his bike around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, near the intersection of El Camino Real and Cassia Street, according to the county Medical Examiner's Office.

"We just expected him to walk through the door this morning, and he just didn't, it didn't happen," Jacob's daughter, Melissa Tennent, told News 8.

A witness told police the 23-year-old driver crashed into a curb and some bushes, then sped away into an apartment complex parking lot, Carlsbad police Lt. Paul Mendes said.

Emergency personnel found Jacobs, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

""He was always making everybody laugh, and always had a smile on his face," said Marissa Jacobs, the victim's other daughter. "He always enjoyed life in everything he did."

"He was always there for his grandkids, and was a really dedicated, hard worker," Tennent added.

Police found the unoccupied vehicle and, some time later, its suspected driver, Julianne Elyse Thomson, who was hiding in some bushes, Mendes said.

Thomson was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run and drunken driving, he said.

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