| For Immediate Release Case # 10CF2446
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Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
DRUNKEN DRIVER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR KILLING A PEDESTRIAN AFTER LOSING CONTROL OF HIS VEHICHLE AND CRASHING
SANTA ANA – A drunken driver will be arraigned today for killing a pedestrian after losing control of his vehicle and crashing. Beau Richard Cook, 26, Costa Mesa, is charged with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of ten years in state prison. The People will be requesting Cook be held on $150,000 bail at his arraignment this morning, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
At approximately 11:24 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2010, Cook is accused of leaving work and consuming alcoholic beverages and driving in his Scion, heading southbound on Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana. He is accused of speeding and running a red light at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Warner Avenue. The defendant is accused of swerving and losing control of his vehicle to avoid hitting a vehicle making a legal U-turn. He is accused of hitting the center median and skidding across the southbound lanes of traffic. Cook is accused of driving up on the curb of the sidewalk and shearing off a fire hydrant and hitting victim, 57-year-old pedestrian Eloisa Aguilar, causing her to be thrown and land in the adjacent shopping center parking lot. Witnesses called 911.
The victim died at the scene due to blunt force trauma injuries.
Cook was transported to the hospital to be treated for a broken leg and pelvis he sustained in the crash. Approximately an hour and a half after the crash the defendant is accused of having a blood alcohol level of .08 percent.
Deputy District Attorney Susan Price of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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