OCTOBER 12, 2009 – The State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is quickly learning that solving one problem leads to a new problem. After years of cracking down on liquor stores and other businesses for selling alcohol to minors, ABC is now tasked with another problem: teens who get their alcohol from adults, often at house parties. Many parents allow underage drinking in their homes, under the premise that it is safer if they drink at home than somewhere else. Despite all the best intentions, allowing groups of minors to drink in a home is illegal.

Crashes Involving Underage Drinking: Target Responsibility For Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE)

The Target Responsibility For Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE) Unit is a specialized team of ABC Investigators who conduct investigations throughout California for incidents, involving minors, alcohol, and serious injuries or fatalities. The TRACE Unit has investigated 23 cases in San Diego County since 2006. Here are some of them:

• TRACE investigated the case of Daniel R. Martinez, 23, of Escondido, who furnished alcohol to two teenagers who later died in an alcohol-related crash. Martinez was sentenced in San Diego County North County Regional Court to 3 years probation, 24 hours of community service, and fined $3,745.

• The District attorney’s office is currently reviewing a case involving a 45-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man who provided alcohol to a 19-year-old Fallbrook firefighter before he died in a crash on Highway 76 in December, 2008.

• TRACE is currently investigating the source of alchol that contributed to the death of Alex Michael Capozza on October 4 in Rancho Santa Fe. Capozza had been the only fatality out of five occupants in a solo-vehicle crash driven by a 17-year-old boy who had been drinking.

A History of San Diego County Social Host Ordinance

With the help of the North Inland Community Prevention Project, Poway City Council member Jay Goldby introduced the county’s first social host ordinance in the fall of 2002. On April 21, 2003, the San Diego City Council passed the social host ordinance to penalize adults for providing alcohol to minors. Poway was the second city in the county to pass a social host ordinance. Under the ordinance, adults and minors who allow groups of three or more people younger than age 21 to drink alcohol in their homes face up to six months and jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Hosts may also face civil liability for providing alcohol, if the use of alcohol results in injury or death (such as an alcohol-related crash).

North County Cities With Social Host Ordinances

Underage drinking should be a serious concern for parents of teenagers. A new billboard installed last week along westbound Highway 78 near El Camino Real is a sober warning to parents about social host ordinances in San Diego County. Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido and Carlsbad all have adopted Social Host ordinances, as well as Poway, Encinitas, La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, the City of San Diego and the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

Social Host Ordinance Means Criminal Prosecution and Civil Liability

San Diego County’s social responsibility ordinance requires parents who have reasonable knowledge of underage drinking on their property to stop it. Penalties include up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. Additionally, hosts may face civil responsibility if the injured person claims the negligence of the host caused a minor’s injuries or death. In San Diego County, violation of this law may be sufficient to establish negligence. The social host ordinance not only applies to drunk-driving deaths and injuries to minors, but also to many other alcohol-related problems, such as binge drinking, alcohol-related violence, sexual assault, and rape. For more information about civil liability for accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by underage drinking as a result of social host violations, contact Estey & Bomberger at (619)543-1391.

OCTOBER 12, 2009 – Police have reported a 47-year-old Yucaipa man was killed early Sunday morning in Clairemont. A female passenger in the vehicle suffered a serious head injury. According to reports, Yun Taek Park, of Yucaipa, was leaving a relative’s apartment on Clairemont Drive near Indian Way at about 2:20 a.m. when the accident occurred. He attempted to pull his 2006 Acura sedan across traffic lanes but was struck on the driver’s side by a 2005 Nissan XTerra. He died of his injuries at the scene. Police reported the 29-year-old driver of the Nissan XTerra had been drinking. The fatal Clairemont accident remains under investigation.

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OCTOBER 9, 2009 – A San Diego woman was killed early Thursday morning in a crash at a City Heights intersection, San Diego Police reported. The fatal crash occurred around 6 a.m. at Fairmont Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard. According to reports, the woman, 40, whose identity was not released, was travelling north on Fairmont Avenue when, for unknown reasons, she ran the light at El Cajon Boulevard. Her Toyota Corolla collided with a Mercury Marquis heading east. The driver of the Mercury Marquis, a 20-year-old woman, though not deemed at fault, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver of the Corolla was taken to the hospital where she died of her injuries. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

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San Diego personal injury attorneys

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 — A jury in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, awarded a 51-year-old Eau Claire woman $3.14 million for permanent injuries she sustained in a crash caused by a drunk driver on the evening of December 11, 2005.

Debra Mayer suffered two broken teeth, a broken left arm, a broken left leg, a broken left foot, a fractured rib and a punctured lung after the near head-on collision. The accident occurred in the town of Eagle Point, north of Chippewa Falls. The driver of the 1989 Pontiac Grand Am that caused the accident, David M. Bowe, 59, had just left a bar in Chippewa Falls when the accident occurred. Bowe was sentenced to 18 months in jail for causing the collision. It was Bowe’s second drunken driving offense.

Since the crash, Mayer now walks with a cane, needs massage therapy and physical therapy. She has had to make modifications to her home to allow her to continue living at home with her injuries.

Two years ago, Mayer rejected a settlement offer of $900,000. The award included $750,000 for Mayer’s future medical expenses; $250,000 for past medical expenses; $17,588 for out-of-pocket expenses; $1.75 million for past and future pain and suffering, disfigurement and disability; and $375,000 in punitive damages.

AUGUST 18, 2009 - The San Diego County Medical Examiner has identified a 34-year-old Santee man as the passenger killed by a suspected drunken driver in Lakeside, authorities said. Patrick Michael Elerding was riding in a 1990 Volvo 240DL that was traveling west on El Monte Road about 1 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the car, identified as 37-year-old Nico Faulk of San Diego, lost control of the vehicle just east of Lake Jennings Park Road, crossed over the double-yellow lines and collided head-on with a large oak tree, authorities said. An off-duty San Diego police officer came across the wreckage and called emergency personnel. Elerding was declared dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner. Faulk complained of back pain and was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital for evaluation. He’s expected to be booked on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence upon his release, authorities said. The CHP is continuing to investigate the fatal car accident.

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AUGUST 18, 2009 - A woman was seriously injured when she was struck by a suspected drunken driver while walking through the parking lot of a local market, authorities said. The collision occurred about 4:30 p.m. as the woman walked with her husband to their car in the parking lot of San Marcos Market on West Mission Road near Pico Avenue, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The driver of a Saturn SL was apparently backing up when he struck the woman and dragged her under the car for about 40 feet, officials said. The victim suffered serious internal injuries, as well as injuries to her right arm, back and ribs. The driver fled west on West Mission Road where he was spotted by a Palomar College police officer, officials said. The driver, identified as 27-year-old Leopoldo Morales of San Marcos, was pursued for a short distance before he crashed head-on into a parked car on Descanso Avenue. He fled on foot, but witnesses pointed him out to police and he was arrested on Linda Vista Drive, authorities said. Morales was booked at Vista Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing serious bodily injury, hit-and-run and evading arrest, authorities said. He was held on an immigration hold. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to investigate the pedestrian accident.

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AUGUST 13, 2009 - A 60-year-old man was seriously injured when the motorcycle he was riding slammed into a retaining wall in a North San Diego County neighborhood. The unidentified man failed to negotiate a turn on Avenida del Oro in the Rancho del Oro neighborhood about 7 p.m., according to Oceanside police. The man, who was wearing a helmet, was flown to a local trauma unit with major injuries, authorities said. Alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, police said. The Oceanside Police Department is continuing to investigate the motorcycle crash.

AUGUST 8, 2009 – Police reported five people were injured, one seriously, in a two car collision involving a 2001 Ford Escort and a 1998 Toyota Sienna minivan in Mira Mesa. The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. According to reports, the man driving the Ford Escort ran a red light and turned into a shopping center near Reagan Road at the same time a woman was driving west on Mira Mesa Boulevard. Both the driver of the Escort and the driver of the Sienna were injured, authorities said. Three other passengers were also injured. One person reportedly suffered a spinal fracture. Police are investigating the cause of the crash, and whether the driver of the Ford Escort was possibly under the influence of alcohol.

AUGUST 3, 2009 - A 9-year-old Los Angeles girl was fatally injured when the car she was riding in crashed on Interstate 5 in San Diego County, authorities said. The driver of the victim’s car, identified as 23-year-old Michael J. Wright of Commerce, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the California Highway Patrol. The collision occurred shortly after 1 a.m. in northbound lanes at Cassidy Street. Traffic had slowed to about 25 mph, causing a Lexus sports-utility vehicle that was traveling about 50 mph in the fast lane to swerve to avoid a slowing Dodge Caliber, the CHP said. The Lexus clipped the Dodge, however, causing it to lose control and strike the right side of a Honda CRV and then a big rig. The girl, who was a back seat passenger in the Lexus, was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital in Kearny Mesa, where she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival, the CHP said. A 38-year-old man in the Honda sustained moderate injuries and was taken to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside. A 50-year-old man in the Dodge suffered minor injuries. The CHP is investigating the cause of the I-5 collision.

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JULY 31, 2009 - A motorcyclist was injured in a crash on Interstate 5 in San Diego County, authorities said. The accident happened in southbound lanes around noon, according to the California Highway Patrol. Details of the I-5 accident were unavailable, but witnesses said the victim was lying unconscious in left lanes, authorities said. The accident occurred near the Poinsettia Lane off-ramp and within 10 minutes traffic was backed up to Palomar Airport Road. Investigators requested a blood technician be assigned to the crash, suggesting they believed alcohol or drugs were involved. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the motorcycle crash.

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