Romanian Refugees Press Claim : Parents Sue Driver in Death of Son

They survived decades of religious persecution. The father spent two years in a Romanian prison. Finally, nine years ago, they fled their native land as political refugees, eventually making their way to Southern California.

But on a Fullerton street in 1984, the close-knit family of Alexander Morlocan was shattered.

Mircea Morlocan, 26, was at the wheel of a small sports car that was hit from the rear by a pickup truck whose driver was legally drunk. The sports car was crushed and Mircea was killed.

Alexander Morlocan, 62, and his wife, Anastasia, 59, were in Orange County Superior Court Monday to press their civil claim for the wrongful death of their son against Richard D. Stodola, driver of the pickup.

Stodola of Buena Park was convicted last year of misdemeanor drunk driving as a result of the Nov. 28, 1984, accident and was sentenced to six months in jail and probation.

The Morlocans’ lawyer, Raymond J. Baddour, told jurors that Stodola’s blood alcohol content was measured at .19 shortly after the accident, well over the California standard of .10. Experts will testify that Stodola must have consumed the equivalent of between 11 1/2 and 13 drinks of 100-proof alcohol before the accident, Baddour told jurors in his opening statement before Judge Richard N. Parslow Jr.

Defense attorney Lafe S. Parkin told jurors that Mircea Morlocan made a “very precipitous lane change” directly in front of Stodola, causing the fatal accident. The sudden move could not have been avoided by any driver, sober or otherwise, Parkin said.

Stodola testified Monday that he saw a green light at an intersection on Magnolia Street at the Riverside Freeway in Fullerton, but said he did not see Morlocan’s car.

Stodola testified that he had consumed one or two beers and two or three mixed drinks in the four hours preceding the accident. When asked if he was drunk, Stodola answered, “I don’t remember being greatly impaired, no.”

But Stodola acknowledged under questioning by Baddour that he gave a sworn statement earlier this year in which he said he was drunk at the time of the accident. And Monday, he testified that he was intoxicated later when he was given a field sobriety test by Fullerton police.

Alexander Morlocan said he was imprisoned for two years and two months in Romania for his beliefs as a Reformed Seventh-day Adventist. He said his late son was also a believer and had preached a sermon as a lay member of his Los Angeles congregation the Saturday before his death.

The elder Morlocan, whose ability to speak English is limited, was a prosecutor and later a judge in his native land. He retired in 1957 with a disability based on heart problems, he said.

Morlocan declined to elaborate on the reasons for his imprisonment, saying he feared that any criticism of the current government of Romania could complicate his plans to return for a visit next year.

He and his wife live in West Los Angeles. Morlocan said he passed his citizenship test in June and is waiting the opportunity to take his oath.

Neither is employed. Both collect Social Security disability benefits.

The Morlocans have a daughter who is living in Northern California.

Mircea was a dental technician and a “devout” member of his church, according to Baddour. He never drank alcohol, Baddour said.

The attorney said the persecution of the Morlocans and their flight from Romania made for “very strong family bonds.”

“The family prayed together, morning and evening,” Baddour told jurors.

Because of the parents’ disabilities and limited ability to speak English, they relied to an unusual degree on their son, Baddour said. Baddour has not yet asked jurors for a specific amount of damages in the case.

Morlocan said he was confident that he will prevail in the civil trial. As a former judge, he expressed displeasure at the six-month sentence Stodola received in his criminal trial last year.

“In our country, no way under 15 years,” he said.