Articles Posted in DUI Accidents

Christian Martinez, 5, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident, which police report, was caused by a suspected drunk driver. According to KTLA News, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred on Poplar Place in Huntington Park the evening of May 15, 2011. The driver, a 25-year-old man who lives in the neighborhood, is facing felony DUI charges and could also be charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. It is not clear at this time if the child ran into the street, or if a driving error by the intoxicated motorist was the primary cause of the accident. An investigation is ongoing.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Christian Martinez following this tragic pedestrian accident. My thoughts and prayers are with the boy’s parents during this difficult time.

Los Angeles DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were no fatalities, but 31 injuries reported due to Huntington Park DUI collisions. During that same year, there were 258 fatalities and 4,832 injuries reported involving alcohol-related accidents in Los Angeles County.
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A female passenger suffered major injuries in a Riverside car accident, which police report, involved a drunk driver. According to a KPSP news report, the DUI collision occurred at the intersection of Bellflower and Brookside avenues in Beaumont the night of May 9, 2011. Police say that the driver of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, Darrin Hammer, ran a stop sign and turned left directly in front of a Dodge pickup truck. The Dodge pickup veered off the road and went into a concrete guardrail before overturning. A female passenger in the Dodge sustained major head, chest and abdominal injuries. Both drivers sustained minor injuries. Hammer was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence.

My thoughts and prayers are with the woman who sustained severe injuries following this DUI collision. I wish her the very best for a complete and speedy recovery from her injuries.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), one person was killed and nine were injured in Beaumont DUI collisions. During that same year, 101 fatalities and 1,090 injuries occurred due to alcohol-related accidents in Riverside County.
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Police have arrested a 68-year-old man in connection with a Fresno car accident, which severely injured 16-year-old Shaela Warkentin. According to a CBS 47 news report, the major injury crash occurred at the intersection of Barstow and Maroa avenues on March 8, 2011. Warkentin was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped at a red light and rear-ended by a vehicle. The suspect, Douglas Lindsey, had high levels of the painkiller, Vicodin, in his blood, officials say, when he hit the back of the stopped car. The force of the collision drove Shaela’s head through the rear windshield causing severe damage to her face and head. She is still recovering in a local hospital, but has lost an eye and lost sight in the other eye. Lindsey has been charged with driving under the influence.

My heart goes out to young Shaela Warkentin and her family members. It is heartbreaking to hear that she has lost her ability to see and has suffered severe facial and head injuries. She will certainly be in my thoughts and prayers.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were 17 fatalities and 177 injuries involving DUI collisions in Fresno. In Fresno County as a whole, alcohol-related crashes claimed 55 lives and injured 444 people during the same year.
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Dana Acosta, 22, was killed in a Long Beach car accident, which police say, involved a drunk driver. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal DUI collision occurred near Atlantic Avenue and Wardlow Road in Long Beach the night of April 1, 2011. Police say 29-year-old Heriberto Cervantes crashed his 1991 Toyota Camry into a palm tree after running a red light. He lost control of his vehicle attempting to avoid a 2005 Toyota Scion at the intersection. Acosta, a passenger in the Camry, suffered fatal injuries. Cervantes faces felony gross vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving charges.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Dana Acosta following this tragic DUI collision. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), nine people were killed and 186 were injured in Long Beach DUI collisions. During the same year, in Los Angeles County, there were 258 fatalities and 4,832 injuries reported involving alcohol-related crashes.
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Errol Barriere, 59, was injured in an Orange County car accident, which police report, may have involved a drunk driver. The Orange County Register reports the serious injury DUI collision took place early morning on February 22, 2011 on the westbound 91 Freeway near Knott Avenue in Buena Park. Barriere was driving a Nissan Altima when a 2003 Porsche driven by Yechiel Farzan, 30, crashed into it. Barriere sustained moderate injuries in the accident. Farzan was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

My thoughts and prayers are with Errol Barriere following this DUI collision. I wish him a complete and speedy recovery from his injuries.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), one person was killed and 45 were injured in Buena Park DUI collisions. During that same year, there were 62 fatalities and 1,492 injuries reported involving alcohol-related crashes in Orange County.
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Two people were critically injured in a three-vehicle car accident in Riverside, which officials say, was caused by a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the injury car accident occurred on the Highway 60 at Valley Way in Rubidoux the night of February 11, 2011. California Highway Patrol officials said two of the vehicles involved in the accident were burned and two individuals sustained critical injuries. Officials attributed the accident to a “possible felony DUI.” Two people were taken to area trauma centers and five others were transported to local hospitals with unspecified injuries.

My heart goes out to everyone in this car accident who has been injured. I wish the injured victims the very best for a quick and complete recovery. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 52 people died and 426 were injured as a result of DUI collisions in the unincorporated areas of Riverside County. Also, countywide, 101 deaths and 1,090 injuries were reported involving alcohol-related car accidents in 2008.
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A man from Planada was killed in a Merced County car accident, which police report, involved a drunk driver who left the scene of the accident, the morning of January 29, 2011. According to a news article in The Merced Sun, the fatal DUI collision occurred on Bear Creek Drive near Plainsburg Road in Planada. Police say that Everado Soriano, 23, was under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his 1991 Honda Accord. The car veered off the roadway before overturning in an irrigation canal. Soriano got out of the vehicle and left his passenger the scene of the accident. It is unclear at this time if the fatally injured passenger died in the accident or from drowning after not being able to get out of the vehicle. Soriano has been found and arrested on suspicion of felony DUI, hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the Planada man killed in this tragic accident. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

Drunk Driving Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 14 people were killed and 75 were injured in DUI collisions in the unincorporated areas of Merced County. During that same year, there were 17 fatalities and 136 injuries reported due to alcohol-related car accidents in Merced County.
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Dennis Splan, 40, was killed in a San Francisco car accident, which authorities say, was caused by a drunk driver. According to a KTVU San Francisco news report, the fatal DUI collision occurred on Hesperian Boulevard in Hayward the night of January 22, 2011. Splan was a passenger in a Toyota Tundra that was rear-ended by a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser driven by 43-year-old Juan Nunez. The Tundra then hit the center median of the roadway as a result of the impact. Splan died from his injuries in a nearby hospital. The driver of the Tundra suffered minor injuries as did the driver of the Land Cruiser. Nunez has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI as well as two counts of hit-and-run. The hit-and-run charges stem from two crashes that Nunez had fled just prior to the fatal rear-end accident.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Dennis Splan. Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), two people were killed and 70 were injured in DUI collisions in Hayward. During that same year, there were 34 fatalities and 687 injuries reported due to alcohol-related car accidents in Alameda County.
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Samuel Bendimez, 23, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident, which officials say, was caused by a drunk driver. According to a report in The Pasadena Star-News, the fatal car accident occurred the morning of January 21, 2011 on Valley Boulevard near San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel.

A woman, who was driving the pickup truck in which Bendimez was passenger, lost control and rear-ended a parked tour bus that was loading passengers at the time. Another female passenger in the Ford F-150 truck was hospitalized with serious injuries. Several bus passengers were treated for minor injuries. The driver of the Ford pickup was also seriously injured. She has been charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Samuel Bendimez for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. My heart also goes out to the other seriously injured victim in the truck as well as the injured bus passengers. I wish these victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were no fatalities, but 17 injuries involving DUI collisions in San Gabriel. In Los Angeles County as a whole, 258 people died and 4,832 were injured due to alcohol-related car accidents during the same year.
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James Austin Withers, 84, was killed in a Mendocino County car accident, which police say, involved a suspected DUI driver. According to a news report in The Press Democrat, the fatal DUI collision occurred on Highway 1 near Fort Bragg the evening of January 15, 2011. Withers was fatally injured when his Volkswagen Beetle was struck head on by a Toyota 4Runner driven by 32-year-old Mary Kotila. Officials arrested Kotila on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and drug possession, and gross vehicular manslaughter.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of James Austin Withers. My thoughts and prayers are with them following this tragic car accident.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 15 people were killed and 70 were injured due to DUI collisions in the unincorporated areas of Mendocino County. During that same year, there were 16 fatalities and 83 injuries reported involving alcohol-related car accidents in Mendocino County.

Vehicular Manslaughter

Based on this news report, police have determined that the driver of the Toyota was driving under the influence of drugs. A driver whose act of driving under the influence results in the death of another will likely face vehicular manslaughter charges, as Kotila does in this case.
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