Anyone can have a momentary lapse of judgment. However, some decisions can cause a lifetime of pain and suffering for oneself and others. One man found that out firsthand last summer when he chose to get behind the wheel after he had been drinking.
MyNewsLA reports that a Santa Ana man has pleaded guilty to the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol in connection to a crash in August of last year that left one victim critically injured.
The crash happened on August 4, 2021, at approximately 9:00 p.m. at the intersection of Corta Drive and Edinger Avenue in Santa Ana. The Santa Ana Police Department investigators report that Rodriguez was driving a white van eastbound on Edinger when he made a left turn onto Corta Drive and collided with a gray SUV.
Police and paramedics responded to the scene. Both the other driver in the SUV and Rodriguez were taken to an area hospital for treatment of injuries. The driver of the SUV suffered critical and potentially life-threatening injuries.
Court documents indicate that 27-year-old Angel Rodriguez entered the plea guilty to the misdemeanor counts of DUI and driving with a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.08 percent.
Rodriguez’s pleading guilty to the charge is part of a plea deal that reduces what would have been felony counts of DUI, DUI causing great bodily injury, and additional sentencing enhancement.
An Orange County judge agreed that since this was his first offense, they sentenced him to 10 days in jail, three years of informal probation, and ordered him to participate in a six-month first-time-offender alcohol program.
