California currently has two vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated laws. The first is vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. This charge can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor. The second is the more serious charge. It is gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. It is always charged as a felony. The second charge alleges that the driver acted in a way that they knew was a danger to others. It is only one step below the DUI murder charge. The penalties include a term of 4, 6, or 10 years in prison. If the driver has previous gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated or two or more DUI charges, the penalty is 15 years to life.
KTLA reports that a 3-year-old boy and his father were killed in a suspected DUI crash in Long Beach.
On Halloween night, 20-year-old Carlo Navarro was driving a 2002 Toyota Sequoia southbound on Country Club Drive. As he approached Los Cerritos Park, he failed to make a turn and drove onto the sidewalk. There, he struck a family of three that were walking.
All three victims were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The father, 30-year-old Joseph Awaida had succumbed to his injuries by the next morning. On Saturday, his three-year-old son, Omar, also succumbed to the injuries he sustained. Awaida’s wife, Raihan Dakhil, was also seriously injured and remains hospitalized.
Police detained Navarro at the scene, then arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI charges. He was being held at the Long Beach City Jail on a bond of $100,000.
