LAKEPORT — A Clearlake man accused of causing a fatal crash and leaving the scene last month waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Friday.
As a result, Danny Kirk Fields II, 27, was held to answer for the charges against him and is set for arraignment on June 5, according to court records.
Fields faces three felonies (vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing bodily injury, and hit and run), a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license and a handful of special allegations in connection with the April 15 crash.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) alleges Fields was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet El Camino on Highway 29 just north of Highway 53 when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree early that morning.
Fields allegedly left the scene and got a ride to the Tower Mart in Lower Lake. His parents then went to the store and took Fields to a Clearlake hospital, according to the CHP.
Officers responded to the hospital and talked to Fields, who could not remember where the crash occurred or if he had any passengers at the time, the CHP stated.
When the El Camino was located later that morning, authorities found Jennifer Clark, 31, in the passenger seat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fields was booked into the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility on April 20, after being released from the hospital. He remains in custody.
A two-day preliminary examination in the case began on May 14 and was supposed to finish on Friday at the Lake County Courthouse. Instead, Fields elected to waive his right to the hearing on Friday, according to court records.
He is set to be arraigned on June 5 at 8:15 a.m. in Lake County Superior Court Department 4 in Clearlake.
