A 21 year old Fullerton, California man plead guilty last month to manslaughter for the 2009 deaths of his two friends when he lost control of his truck and hit a tree in Santa Ana, California. His friends were passengers in his vehicle and were ejected upon impact. The young man had a blood-alcohol level above 0.10 percent at the time of the crash.
This young man’s sentencing exposure depends upon whether he plead guilty to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter or felony vehicular manslaughter. There is also Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated. The sentence exposure is anywhere from 1 year in jail to 15 years to life in prison. Some of the determining factors are that the person was driving under the influence or DUI, that while they were DUI they committed an additional wrongful act and reckless driving such as speeding. Another determining factor is whether it was a first, second or third or more offense.
Fortunately there are legal defenses to DUI. An experienced Orange County California DUI Defense Attorney will be familiar with these defenses and the best way to utilize them to get the best result possible. A good DUI defense attorney would look at the validity of the intoxication evidence rather than some other reason for the impairment, as well as the blood or breath test results. Police procedures should always be looked at for possible misconduct. Other defenses might be that your negligence was not the actual cause of the death or in this Santa Ana case, deaths. And, lastly, the accident itself. Was there something other than your intoxication or negligence that caused the accident.
If you have been arrested and/or charged with Driving Under the Influence in Orange County California, whether involved in an accident or not, you will need a good Orange County California DUI attorney.
If you would like to know more about Driving Under the Influence, Vehicular Manslaughter, Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated, or Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated, contact Orange County California Criminal Defense Attorney William M. Weinberg at his Irvine California office at 949-474-8008.