Man Charged in Crash in Pasadena That Killed His Passenger

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.