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People v. Lopez1/7/2003
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
Daniel Ortiz Lopez appeals his convictions of second degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)); gross vehicular manslaughter with the personal infliction of great bodily injury while intoxicated (id., §§ 191.5, subd. (a), 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), 12022.7, subd. (a)); driving under the influence causing injury and involving the personal infliction of great bodily injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a); Pen. Code, §§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), 12022.7, subd. (a)); driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or above causing injury and involving the personal infliction of great bodily injury (Veh. Code, §§ 23153, subd. (b), 23578; Pen. Code, §§ 1192.7, subd. (c)(8), 12022.7, subd. (a)); hit and run resulting in death (Veh. Code, § 20001, subds. (a), (b)(2)); hit and run causing property damage (id., § 20002, subd. (a)); and driving with a suspended license (id., § 14601.2, subd. (a)).
On appeal, Lopez contends the trial court erred in instructing the jury that violation of the basic speed law is an act inherently dangerous to human life; erred in refusing to permit the defense to present evidence of a witness's prior conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol; erred in refusing to instruct on the lesser included offense of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; and erred in the amount of restitution ordered. We affirm.
FACTS
On February 2, 2001, Lopez and Hugo Farias drank tequila and sodas while they were at work. Lopez left about 2:30 p.m. Lopez turned onto Ocean View Boulevard and ran a red light without slowing down. At the next intersection, he rear-ended a car stopped at a red light, backed up, and then left the scene after bumping another car.
Lopez continued to drive erratically, driving 30-40 miles per hour on Ocean View Boulevard as he approached Sampson Street. Ocean View had a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour. The intersection of Ocean View and Sampson had a four-way stop. A woman with her two young sons and daughter as well as a neighbor's child were crossing Ocean View. Lopez ran the stop sign and hit her son, Andres Verduzco, just as Verduzco was about to put his foot on the curb. Verduzco later died from injuries he suffered in the collision.
Lopez did not stop, but instead accelerated away. He ran a red light at the intersection of Ocean View Boulevard and Commercial, turned right onto 25th Street and, in the process, nearly hit another car and a bus. Lopez ran another red light at 25th and Imperial Avenue and, as he attempted to turn onto Imperial, he almost hit two other cars before crashing into a light pole.
Lopez was taken to the hospital where, at 3:45 p.m., his blood alcohol level was measured at .36 percent. At 4:53 p.m., his blood alcohol level was .29 percent. A criminalist testified that given Lopez's weight and the period during which he had been drinking that day, Lopez would have had to consume a little over a liter of an 80-proof alcohol such as tequila to have that blood alcohol level. There was also testimony that generally an individual with a blood alcohol level as high as Lopez's level could only remain conscious if he had repeatedly had a significant quantity of alcohol over a long period of time and developed a tolerance.
Lopez's driver's license had been suspended in July 2000.
Defense
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