The Region - News from Nov. 21, 1986

With the jury deadlocked, a judge declared a mistrial in the case of a Camp Pendleton Marine charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death of a San Clemente boy. South county Municipal Court Judge Blair Barnette declared the mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a decision on the manslaughter charge in 1 1/2 days of deliberations. The jury, however, did find the defendant, Michael D. Cox, innocent of speeding and guilty of failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael T. Lubinski said he would decide whether to retry Cox on the manslaughter charge at a hearing Dec. 12. Cox was driving a pickup truck July 28 when he failed to stop at a San Clemente crosswalk. Miguel Palacios, 6, was killed, and his 7-year-old sister and 8-year-old cousin were critically injured at the dimly lit crosswalk at El Camino Real and San Luis Rey. Cox told authorities that he did not see the children in the intersection, which had no stop sign or traffic light. Since the accident, a traffic signal has been installed.