RIVERSIDE - A former ambulance driver accused of killing a young woman in an alcohol-fueled, wrong-way crash in Corona, then fleeing the country, was captured in Mexico, authorities announced today.

Elva Diaz, 31, is accused in the Feb. 21, 2008, death of 18-year-old Rachel Amaris Elliott of Irvine.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office alleges Diaz was driving under the influence when her vehicle crashed head-on into Elliott's car on Knabe Road.

Diaz posted a $75,000 bond after her arrest, but jumped bail a year later and fled south of the border, according to authorities.

The Corona woman was located recently in Santa Cruz De Camotian, near Guadalajara, Mexico, said District Attorney's Office spokesman John Hall.

He said Mexican authorities turned Diaz over to the D.A's Fugitive Apprehension Team on Tuesday afternoon, after she was flown to Los Angeles International Airport.

Diaz was being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside, with arraignment scheduled tomorrow afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Advertisement

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She's charged with second-degree murder, DUI gross vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended or revoked license, and could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted.

According to Hall, the former ambulance driver and emergency medical technician had been drinking at a bar in the hours prior to the fatal collision and was told by her boyfriend and other patrons not to drive, which she disregarded.

Diaz drove onto Knabe Road and headed south in the northbound lanes, Hall said. The defendant was speeding just north of Claystone Avenue when her car slammed into Elliott's vehicle, according to Hall.

The young woman died hours later at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

Her family maintains a Web site dedicated to her: http://www.rachelelliott.org.

According to her biography, Elliott was attending college and studying to be a forensic technician. Ironically, she had been an active participant in her high school's "Every 15 Minutes" program, which emphasizes the dangers of drinking and driving.