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Police arrested a man for drunk driving after a fatal car accident on Highway 60 in Diamond Bar.
Police arrested a man for a fatal drunk driving accident Sunday on Highway 60 in Diamond Bar.
• Traffic slowed to less than 15 mph on the freeway when two lanes were closed.
• A drunk driver came speeding down the middle lane in a BMW and plowed into a Ford in front of him, slamming the car into two other vehicles.
• The 23-year-old driver in the Ford was killed.
• The drunk driver was arrested at the scene and locked up in the county jail.
The deadly four-car freeway crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, according to a report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
California Highway Patrol officers said 23-year old Diamond Bar resident George Derkrikorian was driving a 2001 Ford eastbound in the middle lane of the freeway, west of Brea Canyon Road.
Traffic had slowed for a road closure and both the carpool and far left lanes were closed, according to a Diamond Bar Patch news report. Ford was traveling at about 15 mph, behind a 2001 Chevrolet that had slowed to around 5 mph, CHP officers said.
Officers said 32-year-old Sheng-Ting Shih of Walnut came speeding down the middle lane in a 2012 BMW and plowed into the rear of Derkrikorian’s vehicle. The impact slammed the Ford into both the Chevy in front of it and a Toyota to its left, the CHP reported.
Deirkarkourian died at the scene.
Shih’s passenger,30-year-old Nancy Yinan Lane of Chino Hills, appeared to be injured and was taken to San Dimas Community Hospital.
Police arrested Shih at the scene. He was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail on drunk driving charges. He remained in jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. Sheriff’s records indicate that Shih’s first court appearance was set for Tuesday in Pomona, according to a Walnut Patch news report.
The crash forced four eastbound lanes to be closed for about two hours.
Fatal Drunk Driving Accident Statistics
Almost 11,000 people die every year in drunk driving car accidents on U.S. roads, according to federal government statistics published by the non-profit group Alcohol Alert. Drunk driving deaths account for more than a third of all U.S. traffic fatalities.
Many people believe drunk drivers fare better than their victims on the road, but that is not true. Almost two-thirds of those who are killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes are drunk drivers.
Drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes are typically not first-time offenders. Statistics show they are eight times more likely to have a prior drunk driving conviction than other drivers involved in fatal accidents.
More than half of drunk drivers involved in fatal accidents have levels of alcohol in their blood that are twice the legal limit — or more.
Diamond Bar Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers
The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented drunk driving accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.
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