People v. Walker CA1/1

INTRODUCTION

Following dinner and drinks, defendant got into his car with a passenger and drove at a high rate of speed on El Camino Real in Burlingame, passing other cars and causing his car to spin out, hit a tree, and flip over. Defendant was injured and the passenger was killed. Defendant’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) two and a half hours after the accident was 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Defendant had three prior arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol. One resulted in a DUI conviction; another resulted in a conviction for an alcohol-related driving lesser offense to DUI, and the most recent arrest, involving a single car accident in Wisconsin, resulted in drunk-driving charges that were dismissed in light of the current prosecution. The San Mateo County District Attorney charged defendant with murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 191.5, subd. (a).) In a first trial, the jury convicted defendant of gross vehicular manslaughter but could not agree on the murder charge. The court declared a mistrial and, after a second trial, defendant was convicted of second degree…