On Friday a mistrial was declared in the retrial of a Poway man who was accused of drinking and driving in a crash that killed a woman in her SUV near the University Town Center.
The 47-year-old man was incarcerated on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two DUI counts. The panel voted that the manslaughter charge was 8-4 in favor of guilty, according to the man’s attorney. The jury unitedly agreed that the man had caused the crash, although the negligence was not “gross”.
This is the second mistrial for this DUI offender. Last December, the jury dead locked an 11-1 vote for guilty in terms of charges made against the defendant. A status conference will be held next Wednesday. In this conference, the prosecutors will tell the judge if they intend to try the case a third time.
The original accident occurred on July 13, 2007 at the La Jolla Village Drive and Genesee Ave that took the life of a 28-year-old woman. There were also two other women in the back of the SUV who were also injured in the accident during the night.
The offender is the father of two and faces up to 13 years in prison if he is convicted. According to authorities he ran a red light and was speeding when he struck the SUV with his Acura. His blood-alcohol level was measured at .19 percent – more than twice the legal limit, said prosecutor Jorge Jaramillo.
“We believe the physical evidence and the light timing evidence proves the offender did not speed or run a red light,” Murray said after the second mistrial.
