A 25-year-old man from Santa Ana has been charged with driving under the influence and causing a fatal accident in Tustin.
Gerardo Joaquin Garcia Lopez faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or higher causing injury. He also faces sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on two victims.
Court records indicate that Lopez is accused of killing 67-year-old Rezvan Hekmat of Laguna Hills and injuring his passenger, Miguel Xum.
The Tustin police received a call about the accident at Barranca Parkway and Tustin Ranch Road around 5 p.m. on June 4, according to Tustin police Lt. Ryan Coe.
Lopez had Miguel Xum and another woman in his vehicle at the time of the incident. The other woman fortunately escaped injury, Coe stated.
It is alleged that Lopez ran a red light while traveling west on Barranca and collided with the vehicle driven by Hekmat, causing both vehicles to collide with other vehicles at the intersection.
Hekmat was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead, according to Coe.
Lopez was hospitalized following the accident and was arrested upon his release, Coe added.
The criminal complaint alleges that Lopez had a blood-alcohol level of 0.41, over five times the legal limit, and was driving at a speed exceeding 65 mph.
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