DUI murder is one of the rarest and most serious DUI charges a person can face. It is generally only charged if the suspect has a previous DUI on their record. Otherwise, a DUI that kills another person is normally charged as vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated or gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The penalties for DUI murder are 15 years to life in state prison. If more than one person is killed, a person may face multiple charges of DUI murder, with additional prison time for each person.
KTVU reports on a man sentenced to 135 years for a DUI collision that killed 4 people.
49-year-old Fred Lowe was found guilty of seven felonies, including DUI murder of four people, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday.
The charges date back to an accident in San Pablo in 2017 that killed four people. In the accident, which occurred on November 25th, Lowe sideswiped a Nissan Rogue, sending it over the center divider on Highway 80 and into oncoming traffic.
When his blood-alcohol content was tested hours after the accident, it registered at 0.14%, nearly twice the legal limit.
Four people were killed in the accident: 50-year-old Daryl Horn, 14-year-old Joseph Horn, 52-year-old Troy Biddle, and 12-year-old Baden Biddle. At least five other vehicles were involved in the collision, with at least five other people suffering from injuries. The only survivor was the man who drove the Nissan Rogue, a University of California at Berkley student and star pitcher of the baseball team.
Lowe fled from the accident, parking the visibly damaged Mercedes in a nearby neighborhood. Police caught up to Lowe shortly after the accident and arrested him.
Lowe was sentenced to 135 years to life in state prison.
