Andersen
People v. Andersen
Opinion
Opinion
Spencer, J.
Introduction
Defendant Michael Kenneth Andersen appeals from a judgment of conviction entered after a jury trial. The jury found him guilty of four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subd. (a)) and one count of causing injury while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)). The jury also found true the allegation that defendant caused injury to five named individuals (id., § 23182). Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied, after which he was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law.
Statement of Facts
Some time after 10 p.m. on September 9,1990, Cecilia Sanchez (Sanchez) was driving her pickup truck home to San Ysidro after a family gathering in El Monte. Riding with Sanchez in the cab of the truck were her sister, Sofia, Sanchez’s son, Isaac, and her nephew, Juan Castaneda. Riding in the back of the pickup truck were four more of Sanchez’s children, Christina, Ernestina, Adriana and Ernesto Jr., as well as Sanchez’s sisters, Angelica and Irma Flores, and Sanchez’s nieces, Vanessa Figueroa, Jessica Carrillo and Monica and Sandra Flores. After Sanchez entered the 605 Freeway, Isaac told…