Suspected DUI driver kills Good Samaritans in tragic Big Bear Lake crash

A family is devastated after a suspected DUI driver broadsided a car carrying three women volunteering for a local charity, killing two of them and severely injuring the third. Investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said the fatal May 4 crash occurred just before 10:30 a.m. when Matthew Clark, 52, an Oxnard resident, was driving southbound on Cienega Road and failed to stop at a posted stop sign as he approached Big Bear Boulevard in Big Bear Lake. Behind the wheel of a Ford Super Duty pickup truck, Clark slammed into the passenger side of the victims’ vehicle, a Subaru Crosstrek traveling westbound on Big Bear Boulevard. “One passenger in the victim’s vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene,” SBSD investigators said in a news release. “A second passenger in the same vehicle was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where they later succumbed to their injuries.” The driver of the Subaru suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where she is listed in critical but stable condition, according to family members. The driver's mother was one of the victims killed in the crash, along with another woman only identified as a family friend, who was in the front passenger seat that died on impact. In an email to KTLA, the son of one the woman in the backseat said his mother was retired and heavily involved in local charities. She and her daughter were reportedly training the family friend to take over a Meals on Wheels route when the crash occurred. “We are without words. Our family is devastated,” he told KTLA. Clark was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after being treated for minor injuries at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, officials said. He was booked at the West Valley Detention Center and was being held on $250,000 bail, though another family member told KTLA that Clark has since posted bail and been released. Anyone with information regarding the crash is urged to contact the Big Bear Sheriff’s Station at 909-866-0100. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can contact the We-Tip Hotline at 844-909-3006 or text “REPORT” to 844-909-3006.