Ashton Sweet, 14, was severely injured in an Irvine car accident after the vehicle in which she was a passenger was struck by a suspected drunk driver. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the major injury accident occurred at the intersection of Irvine Boulevard and Culver Drive, early morning on May 29, 2011. Ashton was one of five people in a Mercedes Benz who were injured in the crash with a Toyota pickup truck, driven by 26-year-old Austin Farley.
The Mercedes' driver, 48-year-old Mike Ghaemi, and two others were treated at the hospital and released. Krista Merassa, 15, remains in critical condition. Ashton's family has said the girl is brain-dead, but that she is being kept on life support so her organs could be donated. She is not expected to survive. Farley has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
I offer my deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Ashton Sweet for their sudden and devastating loss. By all accounts, Ashton was a fun-loving and caring teenager who worked with special needs children. The Sweet family will certainly be in my prayers.
As a local resident this horrific collision affects me personally, happening barely a few blocks from my house. I drive every day past Northwood High, where at least one of the victims goes to school, and through the same street intersection where this tragic crash occurred. I can see that in the short period of time since the accident the entire community here has been hit hard.
DUI Statistics
According to California Highway Patrol's 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), one person died and 68 were injured as a result of Irvine DUI collisions. In Orange County as a whole, 62 fatalities and 1,492 injuries were reported due to alcohol-related car accidents during the same year.
California Drunk Driving Laws
Based on this news report, the driver of the other vehicle, Farley, was apparently driving under the influence of alcohol when he caused the crash. It is illegal under California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a) to operate a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. A driver whose act of driving under the influence results in the death of another will likely face vehicular manslaughter charges under California Penal Code Section 191.5 (a).
Holding Wrongdoers Accountable
This is not the first time that Farley has been arrested for DUI. In fact he has many drunk driving incidents on his record, including one in 2009 where he pleaded guilty. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and refusing to submit to a DUI test. As an Orange County personal injury lawyer, who has successfully held drunk drivers financially responsible for their actions, it seems to me based on Farley's prior record that he should be facing serious charges. The young people in the Mercedes did nothing wrong. They were just innocent passengers here. Tragically, they were the ones who paid a heavy price.
SLS Consulting