By Sam Farfan
Cal State Long Beach employee Rodger Lee Watkins was found dead by police at the scene of a fatal car crash on Tuesday night. The suspect was later identified as 31-year-old Long Beach resident Julia Haq.
Haq was driving a 2012 Lexus IS250 under the influence northbound on Atlantic Avenue when she broadsided 60-year-old Watkins in a 2012 Ford Focus traveling eastbound on Anaheim Street. The cars collided at the street intersection, police said.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated against the suspect and issued a warrant for her arrest on April 30.
The suspect later turned herself in to the Long Beach Courthouse the next day, the Long Beach Police Department stated in a press release on May 16.
The force of the crash caused both drivers to lose control. The Ford struck the traffic light and an abandoned building while the Lexus struck a bus bench located on the northeast corner of the intersection, according to the Long Beach Police Department’s preliminary investigation.
Police officers responded to the collision around 11:48 p.m. shortly before finding the victim trapped inside his vehicle. Officials of the Long Beach Fire Department declared Watkins dead upon arrival.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner responded to the scene, later confirming Watkins’ identity. Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Raffi Djabourian determined the victim’s cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma.
Authorities said that Haq was cooperative with the investigation as she remained at the scene before being transported to a local hospital to treat her non-lethal injuries. LBPD Public Information Officer Richard Mejia said Haq was released from the hospital sometime between when the incident occurred and Feb. 22.
Watkins was an active member of the CSULB campus community working as a custodian for Beach Building Services and served as a steward for the Long Beach Chapter of the California State University Employees Union.
Beach Building Services employees did not respond to the Long Beach Current’s request for comment.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on August 31st as more details of the investigation were provided.
