The Ventura County Star reports on a man sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a fatal DUI accident. On June 14th, 24-year-old Maximino Diaz pleaded guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI alcohol causing injury. On July 15th, he was sentenced to five years of prison.
The charges stem from an accident that occurred January 13th at about 2 a.m. near the intersections of Pleasant Valley Road and Longfellow Way. Diaz was behind the wheel of a 2003 PT Cruiser when he first crashed into a palm tree and then into a brick wall.
Diaz suffered from minor injuries in the crash. His passengers were seriously injured. On April 19th, Juan Gonzalez Diaz, succumbed to his injuries.
Police determined that Maximino Diaz was intoxicated and traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the accident. As a result of the speed combined with intoxication, the vehicle left the roadway.
California’s DUI laws are fairly straight forward, but they can also be confusing. The key to remember that with only a few exceptions, 0.08% is the legal limit for intoxication within the state. The exceptions are only for those that have a commercial driver’s license when the limit is lowered to 0.04%. This lowered limit is in effect regardless of the vehicle being driven.
For those under 21, California has a “zero-tolerance” policy concerning DUI. This means that an underage driver with even a 0.01% BAC can be pulled over and charged with DUI. If a person’s blood-alcohol level goes over 0.15%, they can be charged with the enhancement “excessive BAC.”
