Patch.com reports that a 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the charges of DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter for his role in a crash in 2021 that left a 75-year-old bicyclist dead.
Court documents indicate that the fatal crash happened on June 22, 2021, at approximately 10:30 a.m. when Lucas Beau Morgans was traveling southbound on South Coast Highway 101 near Lomas and Santa Fe Drive when he rear-ended a 75-year-old man on a bicycle. Morgans fled the scene of the accident.
Paramedics performed CPR on the victim and rushed him to Scripps Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Sheriff’s deputies located Morgans a short time later the same day and arrested him on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run. A blood alcohol test taken approximately 90 minutes after the crash showed that Morgans had a blood-alcohol level of 0.169% – more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%.
Morgans initially pleaded not guilty in the case; his defense attorney claimed that the charges against him were “overstated.” Later, however, Morgans pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
The sentencing hearing for Morgans is set to take place in San Diego County Court on September 27, 2022. Morgans is facing up to 15 years in prison.
