School Principal Charged With Murder In Fatal Palmdale DUI Wreck

PALMDALE (CBSLA) — An elementary school principal has been charged with murder in a suspected drunken driving crash which killed a 29-year-old woman last week in Palmdale.

Mary Kruppe, 35, of Pearblossom, was booked on murder charges Saturday in a head-on collision which killed 29-year-old Jessica Ordaz of Lancaster.

Kruppe is a principal in the Eastside Union School District, district officials confirmed. Kruppe is the principal at Enterprise Elementary School in Lancaster, according to its website.

On the evening of Nov. 15, Kruppe was driving a 2014 Jeep Wrangler south on 50th Street East when she lost control and veered into oncoming traffic, California Highway Patrol reports. She then slammed head-on into a 2010 Mazda 3 being driven by Ordaz.

Ordaz died at the scene. Kruppe was treated at a hospital with moderate injuries before being arrested. Investigators believe she was under the influence of alcohol at the time.

She is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court Tuesday.