In Orange County, California a Santa Ana man has been ordered to serve 16 years in prison for the death of another motorist. 33-year-old Marco Antonio Aguilar died in December 2008 after his vehicle was struck by a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Oscar Omar Guerca on the 55 freeway.
Guerca was reportedly driving driving drunk and at a speed of about 97 mph when he struck Aguilar's car, which was traveling at around 15 mph because there was a work zone ahead. Witnesses say the 30-year-old Santa Ana driver failed to slow his vehicle or swerve around Aguilar's car, and both motor vehicles ended up moving through several lanes before stopping.
Aguilar died immediately. Guerca reportedly tried to flee the crash site on foot but was detained by an Orange County police officer.
Test results show that two hours after the crash, Guerca's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .13, which is almost twice California's .08 legal limit.
Aguilar leaves behind a wife and two children.
Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is reckless driving and increases the chances that the motorist will cause a catastrophic California car accident. A driver whose BAC is .08 is 11 times more likely than a motorist without alcohol in his or her system to get into a single vehicle collision. Tests, however, indicate that even with a lower BAC, drivers began to exhibit signs of impaired driving, including judgment loss, decline in visual faculties, loss of focus, and loss of muscle control. Speech, balance, reason, delayed reaction time, and hearing also can be affected the more a person drinks.
A Few Drunk Driving Facts (MADD Web site):
• A drunk driver kills one person about every 40 minutes.
• In 2006, more than 1.46 million motorists were arrested for DUI.
• 30% of all Americans will find themselves involved in an alcohol-related crash.
• On average, a person arrested for drunk driving for the first time will likely have driven drunk about 87 times before he or she is finally arrested.
• About 159 million drunk driving trips occurred in the US in 2002.
If someone you love died in an Orange County, California drunk driving accident, you may be entitled to wrongful death recovery.
Drunken Driver Gets 16 Years for Freeway Death, OC Register, April 3, 2009
Related Web Resources:
