MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN FATAL CRASH; VICTIM DIES OF HEAD INJURIES.Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer Prosecutors filed murder and manslaughter charges Tuesday against a Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. man blamed for a weekend crash on the Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. that fatally injured a 22-year-old motorist. Suspect Johnny Castro, 26, who has a history of drunk-driving convictions, was spotted by witnesses driving at speeds of up to 100 mph when his Nissan 300ZX The Nissan 300ZX, also known as the Nissan Fairlady Z, is a sports car that was produced by Nissan. It comprises the third and fourth generations of the Z-car line-up, respectively given the chassis designations Z31 and Z32. clipped a Jeep near Lake Hughes Road Hughes Road is an arterial road in South Mumbai linking Opera House with Kemps Corner. To the left is Malabar Hill. , said Officer Dave Pokorny, a California Highway Patrol special investigator. Officer Doug Sweeney, a CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan spokesman, said Castro also was spotted making unsafe lane changes when his car hit the Jeep about 6 p.m. ``The trailer then flipped over on its side and broke away from the Jeep, spilling its contents across the freeway,'' Sweeney said. ``This caused the other guy to lose control of the vehicle,'' he said. Mahdad Koosh, 22, of Westlake Village, who was driving the Jeep, died Monday night at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. He had suffered major head trauma. Castro was arrested at the time on suspicion of drunk driving, but the murder and manslaughter charges were added after Koosh died Monday evening, Sweeney said. ``We asked that murder and manslaughter charges be filed because of the nature of the offense,'' Pokorny said. Investigators said Castro's parole for a 1992 grand theft conviction was immediately revoked as a result of the crash. ``(Castro) has a lengthy criminal record, which involves drunk and reckless driving reckless driving n. operation of an automobile in a dangerous manner under the circumstances, including speeding (or going too fast for the conditions, even though within the posted speed limit), driving after drinking (but not drunk), having too many passengers in , numerous license suspensions and there is no doubt that in this case he was well over the legal limit (of alcohol),'' Pokorny said. Authorities said in 1992 Castro was sentenced to seven years in prison following a grand theft conviction. ``His record showed then that he had four prior convictions for DUI,'' Sweeney said. He was released in 1995 and placed on probation. Authorities said Castro tried to flee after the crash, but an off-duty LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. officer detained the man until CHP authorities arrested him. ``He initially denied being at the scene,'' Sweeney said. However, officers found that the Nissan was registered to a Johnny Castro of Beverly Hills. Pokorny said Castro also was driving on a suspended license and without proper automobile insurance. |
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