Prosecutors filed two counts of murder on Tuesday, Nov. 16, against a Lake Forest man suspected of driving drunk during a crash on the I-5 Freeway in Irvine that left two people dead over the weekend.
He had been convicted of DUI’s twice before.
Jorge ErastoCruz, 33, was in custody in lieu of $1 million bail, according to inmate records, after failing a field sobriety test early Sunday at the scene near the southbound lanes north of Yale Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Tino Olivera said.
ErastoCruz was driving a GMC Yukon that slammed into the back of a Honda Civic, which had stopped on the right shoulder for some reason, at about 2 a.m.
Someone from the Civic was getting back inside when the collision occurred, was flung into traffic, struck by a passing vehicle and died.
Another four people inside the car were hospitalized, CHP officials said, with one, Alice Read, 25, of San Diego dying.
Investigators were attempting to positively identify the man struck by the Civic, Orange County Coroner’s officials said Tuesday.
ErastoCruz was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, Olivera said. He has since been charged with drunken driving, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and two counts of murder, according to court records.
He had pleaded guilty in 2019 to two prior cases of DUI, according to court records. One took place on Oct. 18, 2018, and the other happened Dec. 30 of that year.
Source: Orange County Register
Be First to Comment