| For Immediate Release Case # TBA July 26, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
DRUNKEN DRIVER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR KILLING 21-YEAR-OLD GIRLFRIEND IN EARLY MORNING HIGH-SPEED CRASH AFTER LOSING CONTROL OF VEHICLE
SANTA ANA – A drunken driver has been charged with killing his 21-year-old girlfriend in an early morning high-speed crash by losing control and flipping his car before crashing into a wall. Justin Mark Drake, 23, La Mirada, is charged with one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison if convicted. He is being held on $100,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned today, Tuesday, July 26, 2011, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
At approximately 1:15 a.m. on July 24, 2011, Drake is accused of speeding while driving under the influence of alcohol in his Mazda on Chapman Avenue in the City of Fullerton. The defendant’s girlfriend, Kelly Pham, 21, was riding in the passenger seat.
Drake is accused of losing control of his car as he approached the intersection at Woods Avenue. He is accused of spinning his car, going over the curb, hitting a wood fence, and flipping the vehicle. The car finally came to a stop after crashing into a block wall and tree of a resident’s backyard.
The Fullerton Police Department responded to the scene and investigated this case. Pham was transported to University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead after doctors were unable to save her in surgery.
Drake is accused of having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. The investigation is ongoing. He was also transported to the hospital and sustained a broken jaw.
Deputy District Attorney Nancy Hayashida of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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