Orange County DUI Lawyer Blog
Lawrence DiLeva Jr. was driving teenagers Molly Huckabey and Nicole Tropea home in his Dodge Ram in 2005. DiLeva had a blood alcohol level of .1% and was speeding down a residential street in Norco, California. He drove through two stop signs, swerved to avoid hitting another car and lost control of the car. Huckabey and Tropea were killed instantly due to impact. DiLeva was thrown out of the car, suffered brain damage and was in a coma. After he came out of the coma, he was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI with bodily injury. Last week, he was convicted of those crimes and was sentenced to 9 years and 8 months in prison for his actions. Before this accident, DiLeva had been in prison for statutory rape and receiving a stolen vehicle. In addition, he had been charged with drug possession.
Anytime someone offers to drive others, they become liable if anything that happens to them. DiLeva was driving drunk, negligently and not obeying traffic signs, which in turn caused the death of Huckabey and Tropea. Even though the accident was not intentional, DiLeva is still guilty of manslaughter and it will always be on his record. Whether you live in Irvine, Santa Ana or Fullerton, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney to assist you.
If you want to know more about driving under the influence, manslaughter, or your own charges, call Orange County criminal defense attorney William Weinberg @ 949.474.8008 in his Irvine office.