Woman arrested on Highway 118 for DUI
Ponce also facing charges for Hitch Road fatalities

Ashley Ponce, the young woman who was involved in a fatal traffic accident that killed seven family members on rural Hwy. 118 west of Moorpark in August last year, was arrested shortly after midnight on Dec. 19 for allegedly driving under the influence on Hwy. 118 near Ventura.

“Officers were alerted by the manner by which she was driving,” said California Highway Patrol spokesperson Steve Reid.

Ponce was booked at the Ventura County jail and was later released on her own recognizance. Her court date is Jan. 19 at 8:15 a.m.

Ponce is also facing charges in connection with the threecar accident that caused the deaths of two adults and five children who were all in one vehicle and heading home near Moorpark last year.

Fransisco Covarrubias was trying to make a left turn onto Hitch Boulevard when his vehicle was rear-ended by Ponce’s sedan and thrown into oncoming traffic. The family vehicle was then struck by a van driven by Eli Neiderhiser, CHP reports indicated.

The jury trial for that case is set to take place in February. Ponce pleaded not guilty in September this year to seven counts of non-alcohol-related vehicular manslaughter, court records indicated.