Articles Posted in DUI Accidents

Vanessa Cease, 24 and Alan Reyes, 26 were killed in an Orange County car accident, which police say, was caused by a drunk driver who was going the wrong way on a freeway. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal car accident occurred on the eastbound 91 freeway in Anaheim early morning on January 19, 2011.

California Highway Patrol officials say 21-year-old Anthony Louis Fragoso was travelling west in the eastbound lanes when he crashed his 1996 Mercedes-Benz into a 2006 Toyota Scion. The two occupants in the Scion, Reyes and Cease, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Fragoso sustained major injuries and has been arrested on suspicion of DUI. He may be charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Vanessa Cease and Alan Reyes. My thoughts and prayers are with them following this tragic DUI collision.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), eight people were killed and 181 were injured in DUI collisions in Anaheim. During that same year, there were 62 fatalities and 1,492 injuries reported as a result of alcohol-related car accidents.
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Alyssa Leon, 21, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident, which police say, was caused by a repeat DUI offender. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the fatal car accident occurred the morning of January 16, 2011 on Valley Boulevard in Lincoln Heights. Officials say Peter Barragon, 24, lost control of his 2007 Saturn Aura while making a turn, hit a curb and a tree. The vehicle rolled over and Leon, who was a passenger, sustained fatal blunt-force injuries. Barragon and two other passengers were hospitalized for minor injuries. Barragon has been arrested for suspicion of murder. Officials say he had a prior DUI arrest.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Alyssa Leon. My thoughts and prayers are with them following this tragic DUI collision.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 105 people were killed and 2,252 were injured due to DUI collisions in Los Angeles. During that same year, there were 258 fatalities and 4,832 injuries reported involving alcohol-related car accidents in Los Angeles County.
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Deisi Alaez, 67, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident, which police say, was caused by an underage drunk driver. According to The Whittier Daily News, the fatal car accident occurred the night of January 10, 2011 at the intersection of Lambert Road and Gunn Avenue in Whittier. Alaez was killed and the other driver, Brandon Dominguez, 20, was seriously injured in the car accident. Police have arrested Dominguez on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Deisi Alaez. My thoughts and prayers are with them following this tragic Los Angeles DUI accident.

DUI Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 42 people were injured in DUI collisions in Whittier. During that same year, there were 258 fatalities and 4,832 injuries reported involving alcohol-related car accidents in Los Angeles County.

Drunk Driving Laws

Police report the 20-year-old driver was under the influence of alcohol. It is illegal for any person under the age of 21 to consume alcohol and drive under California Vehicle Code Section 23136. A driver whose act of driving under the influence results in the death of another will likely face vehicular manslaughter charges, as Dominguez does in this case.
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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.
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Christine Sanchez and Darlene Delira, both 25, were injured in a Ventura car accident, which police say, was caused by a drunk driver. According to a news report in The Ventura County Star, the injury accident occurred as the pedestrians were walking in a marked crosswalk on Main Street in Ventura early morning on December 24, 2010. The two women were crossing the road when they were struck by a southbound vehicle driven by Brendan Conaty, 26. The two victims were transported to an area hospital with injuries, but have been listed in stable condition. Conaty has been arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.
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Several people were injured in a car accident, which police say, was caused by a driver who was under the influence of drugs. According to a news report in The Californian, the car accident occurred on Highway 156 near Castroville the afternoon of December 11, 2010. Police report that Christina Louise Zuniga-Butler, 52, let her Kia Soul swerve into oncoming traffic where it struck a 2005 blue Honda CRV. Both drivers sustained major injuries and two occupants in the Honda SUV sustained minor injuries. Zuniga-Butler has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

My thoughts and prayers are with the many injured victims of this Monterey County car accident. I wish everyone injured here the very best for a complete and speedy recovery.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 21 people were killed and 109 were injured as a result of DUI collisions in the unincorporated areas of Monterey County. Countywide, 23 deaths and 180 fatalities were reported involving alcohol-related car accidents during the same year.

Traffic Violations

If this news account is accurate, the driver of the Kia entered into oncoming traffic lanes. Authorities believe that Zuniga-Butler was under the influence of drugs, which may have caused her to lose control of the vehicle. According to California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a): “It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.”
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Michael Daniel Noreikas Jr., 28, was killed in a Riverside car accident, which officials say, was caused by his brother, 25-year-old Daniel Noreikas, who was driving under the influence. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, Daniel Noreikas was driving his 2003 Ford F-150 pickup truck on Olivewood Avenue near Panorama Road early morning on November 20, 2010 when he lost control. The pickup hit a curb and rolled over. Michael Noreikas was transported to a local hospital where he died. Daniel Noreikas was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

I offer my deepest condolences to the Noreikas family for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
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Two people were injured in a San Diego car accident, which police say, may have involved two drunk drivers. According to a 10News report, the injury car accident occurred at the intersection of Pendleton Street and Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach the night of November 16, 2010. Two occupants of a Toyota Corolla were injured when a Volkswagen Jetta driven by a 25-year-old woman broadsided it. The 26-year-old male driver of the Corolla and a male passenger in the car sustained broken bones. Both, the driver of the Jetta and the driver of the Corolla face alcohol-related charges.
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Gary Smith, a veteran Caltrans worker, was killed in a suspected DUI collision as he was working on Highway 99 in Butte County. According to a KTXL news report, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred near Chico the night of November 14, 2010. Caltrans workers, including Smith, were setting up a road closure on the highway when Russell Hodge drove his car through the closure and struck Smith. Police arrested Hodge on suspicion of drunk driving and second-degree murder.
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A man was killed in a San Diego car accident, which officials say, was caused by a wrong-way driver who was under the influence. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, 20-year-old Kathleen Sloan was driving a Ford Explorer SUV west in the eastbound lanes of the Interstate 8, the afternoon of November 1, 2010. California Highway Patrol officials say the Explorer then collided with a Ford Econoline van. The driver of the van died at the scene. Sloan sustained major injuries. She was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of this deceased victim for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.
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