Penal Code 191.5

Published on: March 9, 2016

DUIs Turning Deadly: Car Salesman Dies in Freak DUI Crash

Although police officers arrest people from all walks of life on charges of DUI in Los Angeles, it’s not often that those DUIs relate directly to a job. But two separate incidents—one resulting in fatal injuries—demonstrate how people in some occupations may be more at risk when it comes to driving under the influence.

The first case involves a Pennsylvania nurse who forgot that he was on call to assist in emergency surgery. Richard Pieri had just returned home after enjoying time off at the Mohegan Sun casino; he reportedly had drunk at least four beers when he got the summons to go to the VA Medical Center near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. A surveillance video at the hospital showed Pieri bumping his vehicle into a concrete barrier at the parking lot before he headed up to assist the surgical team. (One of his jobs was to monitor the patient’s vital signs during the operation; fortunately for both the patient and Pieri, the surgery went well.) Coworkers noted that Pieri had not seemed his usual self during surgery and reported the incident to management. Police later became involved, charging Pieri with reckless endangering another person, DUI and public drunkenness.

Published on: February 27, 2016

Seven Flee Vehicle After California DUI Accident; One Man Dies While Running from the Crash

by Michael Kraut

Fleeing the scene of an accident involving a DUI in Los Angeles is never a good idea. But for one California man the decision to run instead of remaining with the vehicle had deadly consequences.

In the early morning hours of Monday, February 22, police responded to reports that a vehicle had overturned and landed on its roof on the connector ramp from I-280 northbound to southbound Highway 87. According to the Fremont Patch, instead of waiting for help to arrive, the driver and her six passengers managed to get out of the SUV and started running away.

The California Highway Patrol officers who arrived on the scene quickly corralled four of the passengers and other police officers got hold of the driver and another passenger. But an as-yet-unidentified vehicle struck the remaining passenger, a 20-year-old man from San Jose, who ran into the northbound lanes of Highway 87. That man died, and the driver that hit him fled the scene of the accident.

Published on: December 28, 2015

Fiery Crash Demonstrates the Dangers of DUI in Los Angeles

by Michael Kraut

Occasionally, a DUI in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas impacts the local community in ways that have permanent ripple effects. Cases in which someone loses his or her life, in particular, can change the contours of families or entire communities. It’s cliché to say things like “a bad decision to drink or do drugs and drive can change someone’s life forever,” but it’s cliché because it’s very true.

In a recent case, one young man changed his own fate and that of two passengers in a single-car DUI accident.

In San Diego, 20-year-old Antony Schoenle pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges, including a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while under the influence on Saturday, August 22. His decision to drive after drinking alcohol and using cocaine and marijuana allegedly led to the crash that killed his two of his passengers, Lupe Acosta and Lizzy Garcia. Schoenle escaped, but his two friends, still trapped in the vehicle, died in the resulting fire. A trapped puppy also died in the incident.

Firefighters arrived on the scene first, thinking they were responding to a brush fire, and then they saw the burning wreckage. When officers arrived and measured Schoenle’s BAC two hours after the incident, he was still legally intoxicated. The young man will spend 13 years in prison for his actions.