Our firm hoped that 2010 would be off to a good start, with motorists and travelers on the road making smart decisions, but unfortunately a sad case of a young woman who lost her life and the life of her unborn child due to the poor choices of another driver continues to drag a streak of tragedy across the new year.
Joseph Anthony Venegas, the man accused of driving under the influence and killing pregnant mother Elaina Luquis-Ortiz in a crash on January 1st, 2010, was not arrigned last Friday because he was in the County Jail in medical isolation.
This is an unfortunate hazard that comes with the territory of being an auto accident lawyer at our San Diego law firm. Often the loved ones who have lost a member of their family or their circle of friends must wait for a while as the gears of justice turn. It seems like a pretty open-and-shut case, with Venegas driving-drunk (DUI) and creating the car accident that took the life of Ortiz and her baby, but all of Venegas’ reckless actions behind the wheel must be taken into account. Furthermore, he must be convicted in a court of law.
The fatal drunk-driving accident occurred on the morning of New Year’s Eve, 2010, when the mother to be – six months pregnant at that point — pulled onto the shoulder of Interstate 805 to help a friend who’s car had broken down earlier in the evening. Ortiz and the other car’s passengers were sitting in her Mazda 3 when Venegas crashed into the vehicles, causing the wrongful death of Ortiz and seriously injuring her friends.
Venegas was found to have a blood-alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.08, which is above the legal limit, and is now being charged by the District Attorney’s Office with goss vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The court date has been delayed because he is undergoing medical treatment at the San Diego County Jail and no new one has been currently scheduled.
As always, our firm’s experienced drunk-driving accident lawyers feel bad that this accident and fatality occurred, because from their history of working cases like these, they know that DUI accidents are completely preventable. Now the family and friends of a young woman will have to wait even longer for the powers that be to bestow a fitting punishment to a drunk-driver who’s poor choices took two lives in one instance.
What are your feelings on this case? Do you feel that the court-date should be moved up? What do you feel a fitting sentence for Venegas would be?
Please feel free to call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced DUI accident attorney. We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish. There is no fee if no recovery.
About Michael PinesMichael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.
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Tags: DUI accident, New Year's Eve 2010, vehicular manslaughter, wrongful death
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