Viet Le, 44 and Thuan Trieu, 34, were killed in a Los Angeles car accident, which police say, involved an underage drunk driver. According to a news report in The Daily Breeze, the fatal car accident occurred on the 10 Freeway in West Covina early morning on January 9, 2011. Police report Alex Michael Gary, 19, was driving at about 80 mph when he crashed his car into the back of a 2007 Honda Civic which was stopped in halted traffic.
The rear-end collision set off a chain-reaction accident forcing the Honda into a 2006 Toyota Camry which crashed into a 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche. Le and Trieu were passengers in the backseat of the Honda. Several others suffered moderate to major injuries as well. Gary has been arrested for suspicion of felony DUI and felony vehicular manslaughter.
My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Viet Le and Thuan Trieu. My thoughts and prayers are also with the many injured victims of this tragic car accident. I wish them the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
DUI Statistics
According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 60 people were injured due to DUI collisions in West Covina. During that same year, there were 258 fatalities and 4,832 injuries reported involving alcohol-related collisions in Los Angeles County.
Drunk Driving Laws
Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is illegal under California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a). A driver whose act of driving under the influence results in the death of another will likely face vehicular manslaughter charges. In this case, the suspected drunk driver is under the age of 21. California law prohibits those under the age of 21 from consuming alcohol.
California Penal Code Section 191.5 (a) states: “Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought, in the driving of a vehicle, where the driving was in violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of the Vehicle Code, and the killing was either the proximate result of the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, and with gross negligence, or the proximate result of the commission of a lawful act that might produce death, in an unlawful manner, and with gross negligence.”
Liability Issues
In such cases, injured victims or the family members of deceased victims would be well-advised to seek the counsel of a reputed Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, who has the experience as well as a successful track record of financially pursuing drunk drivers and holding them accountable. A skilled car accident attorney should also inform injured victims and their families about how their own car insurance policy applies to an at-fault motorist who is uninsured or underinsured. For more information about the dangers of drinking and driving, please visit the Mothers Against Drunk Driving web site at www.madd.org.
Lost a family member in a Los Angeles County car accident? Want to know your rights? Want to know what your case is worth? Want compensation? Want justice? Want to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to another family?
Call your best friends in the legal industry after a fatal West Covina car accident. Call 800-259-6373. The call is free. The advice may be priceless.
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