A local man is set to be arraigned next week on gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges stemming from a crash in Pasadena that killed one of his two passengers.
Oscar Munoz-Luna, 26, is charged with one felony count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and driving with a 0.08% blood alcohol content, along with an allegation that he had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.20% or more, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
Munoz-Luna was allegedly driving a green 1998 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck eastbound on Washington Place when it struck a parked, unoccupied vehicle on the south side of Washington Place, west of Sunset Avenue, said Commander Mark Goodman of the Pasadena Police Department.
Fire personnel and police were dispatched to the crash scene at about 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Paramedics rushed a 55-year-old man to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, Goodman said.
The Pasadena man’s name has not yet been released by the coroner’s office.
Munoz-Luna and a rear-seat passenger, a 40-year-old resident of Altadena, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital.
Munoz-Luna was subsequently arrested that night by Pasadena police, and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
He is due in a Pasadena courtroom Monday for arraignment, according to Ricardo Santiago with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
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One thought on “Man Charged in Crash in Pasadena That Killed His Passenger”
As an almost life-long resident of the city, I’ve observed so many almost daily near-misses and aggressive/careless driving, not just in my own neighborhood but across the city. Sometimes it’s ritzy females/males in SUVs on their phones (was almost killed at Lake & the freeway while crossing on my bike with a green light; if a guy in the right lane hadn’t honked to alert me that she wasn’t going to stop before turning onto Lake from the freeway, I’d be dead). But more often I’ve observed young(ish) hot-headed males, impaired or not, unsafely cutting people off and really speeding (not just a little). Yes, I’m biased- it’s usually young(ish) males.
My point is that more effort needs to be put into place to punish-really punish, not a slap on the wrist- anyone of any age cited for reckless/impaired/unlicensed driving (status of his license wasn’t mentioned but I suspect he was unlicensed). Make it hurt financially and in not being able to drive for a good long while so doing the wrong thing is too much of a hassle. Also suspect this wasn’t his first rodeo & he should have been incarcerated long ago so he wouldn’t have the opportunity to kill his passenger. Oh- why were his passengers riding with a guy who was drunk in the first place- not too smart, are they? It’s time to bring the hammer down on impaired drivers who endanger everyone.