Gilroy
– A suspected drunken driver who was arrested following a
head-on crash earlier this month faces new charges today, a week
after a victim in the crash died from his injuries.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – A suspected drunken driver who was arrested following a head-on crash earlier this month faces new charges today, a week after a victim in the crash died from his injuries.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed felony gross vehicular manslaughter charges against 34-year-old Ruben Agular, of San Jose, for the late night May 14 crash on Leavesley Road that killed Jaime Sandoval, 24, of San Jose. The charge carries a sentence of four, six or 10 years in state prison if Agular is convicted, said Frank Carrubba, deputy district attorney supervising South County.
Agular also faces an enhancement for causing great bodily injury, which carries a three-year sentence.
In addition, Agular faces two other felony charges because the crash injured his passenger, Salvador Rosales: one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury or death, and one count of hit-and-run resulting in injury or death.
Agular was driving a van westbound on Leavesley about 10:30pm when, due to his intoxication, he swerved into oncoming traffic and struck a car driven by Sandoval, police said. Sandoval suffered major injuries, including head trauma, and was airlifted to Stanford University Medical Center, where he died three days later.
Although his van was missing the left front tire, police said Agular continued down Leavesley a few hundred yards. He had difficulty maintaining control of the vehicle, however, and allegedly forced another car off the road and into a ditch. Agular’s own van ended up in the ditch, as well, police said. Rosales, his passenger, was transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital, treated and released.
No other injuries were reported.
“I would have charged an additional count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury with (the third driver) as a victim, but he was not injured,” Carrubba said.
Agular continued on foot down the road to In-N-Out, where Gilroy police and California Highway Patrol officers found him after a search and took him into custody.
He is scheduled to enter a plea Tuesday, June 21.
