| For Immediate Release Case # 03CF2415 July 20, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
MAN DRIVING DRUNK AT 100 MPH FACES TRIAL
FOR MURDERING MOTHER OF THREE AND
HARLEY DAVIDSON AFICIONADO
*The victim’s husband was riding beside her when she was hit
SANTA ANA – The trial of drunk driver Jonathan Barber, 28, Irvine, will begin Monday on charges of running over and murdering Harley Davidson aficionado and mother of three, Carla Olsen. Barber is charged with murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence, hit and run causing death, and driving on a suspended license. He also faces a sentencing enhancement for fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, July 23, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
At 10:20 p.m. on August 22, 2003, Barber is accused of driving over 100 miles per hour on Irvine Boulevard near Laguna Canyon Road. He is accused being intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .20 and crashing his car into the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. The impact of the car caused Olson’s bike to slam into a fence and hurled her onto the road. Olson was out for a Friday night ride with her husband of 25 years, who witnessed his wife being hit and killed. The victim’s husband attempted to revive her but was unable due to the severity of her injuries. She was pronounced dead at University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange. Barber is accused of fleeing the scene on foot and was caught by police an hour later as he attempted to hitchhike on Irvine Boulevard.
Olson was a 43-year-old mother of three and Harley Davidson aficionado. She was a college professor who had purchased her Dyna Lowride motorcycle one year earlier as a Mother’s Day gift for herself.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Cameron Talley of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
###