Case # 16NF2320
Date: June 25, 2018
DRUNKEN DRIVER CONVICTED OF VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER OF TWO CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHER BY CRASHING INTO THEM AS THEY CROSSED THE STREET
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A drunken driver was convicted on Friday of the vehicular manslaughter of two children and their mother by crashing into them as they crossed the street.
| Defendant | Charges | Maximum Sentence | Court Date |
| Nicholas Stephen Munoz, 28, Placentia | Pleaded guilty on June 22, 2018, to the following felony counts:
Sentencing Enhancements
|
13 years and eight months in state prison |
Sentencing Oct. 5, 2018, 8:30 a.m. Department N-2, North Justice Center, Fullerton |
Circumstances of the Case
- At approximately 10:20 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2016, Munoz drove down West La Jolla Street in his Placentia neighborhood under the influence of alcohol, at an unsafe speed while not paying attention.
- The defendant crashed into a family as they were walking across the street.
- The victims, 7-year-old Stephanie L., her sister, 3-year-old Diana L., and their mother, 35-year-old Patricia S., were crossing the residential street walking toward their apartment after attending a friend’s party.
- Two nearby Placentia Police Department (PPD) officers heard the impact and arrived at the scene.
- Paramedics were unable to revive the three victims, and they died at the scene as a result of injuries sustained in the collision.
- Munoz was arrested by PPD, who investigated this case.
Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Daniel Feldman, Homicide Unit