Driver in DMV Tragedy Won’t Face Prosecution

There will be no criminal prosecution of the Tijuana man who suffered a minor stroke moments before he lost control of his car and plowed through a crowded Chula Vista Department of Motor Vehicles branch Thursday, injuring 23 people, police said.

Augustin Medina, 64, was in an intermediate care unit at San Diego’s Mercy Hospital, where doctors said he was being kept under 24-hour observation because his blood pressure was fluctuating.

Medina was leaving the Chula Vista DMV branch when he lost control of his car, which plowed through the south wall of the building at about 25 m.p.h., bounced off a counter and hit another wall as panicked customers attempted to get out of the way.

Following repairs of damaged walls and a structural approval from the California state architect’s office, the Chula Vista DMV branch opened at noon Friday with a skeletal staff of 30 employees, who were on loan from six other DMV offices in the county.

The entire 80-member staff of the Chula Vista DMV office got the day off, and many participated in group therapy sessions provided by the DMV to recover from the shock of the accident, said Candy Wohlford, regional manager of the DMV.

“They went through very difficult circumstances,” Wohlford said.

She said the office is expected to be fully staffed by Monday, although the DMV will continue to provide therapy for employees who need it.

There are no estimates yet of the cost of damage caused by the crash, Wohlford said.

As the office opened Friday, reinforced plywood boards covered the holes made by Medina’s car, and throughout the building customers and employees alike could be seen pointing to the location of Thursday’s bizarre accident.

“I had an eerie feeling when I walked in here . . . I kept thinking, ‘What if another car came in,’ “said Barbara Ireland, a Chula Vista resident who was renewing her car registration Friday.

“I would have been here yesterday if I hadn’t had to go to work; I was pretty lucky,” she said.

Three accident victims remain hospitalized.

Most seriously injured was Maria Morfin, 31, of Tijuana, who is in serious condition at UC San Diego Medical Center after seven hours of emergency surgery for internal injuries. Morfin, who was pinned between Medina’s car and a wall in the crash, was flown by helicopter to the hospital.

Hospital officials were helping Morfin’s husband, Hector, organize a fund to help defray Maria’s medical costs, a UC San Diego Medical Center spokeswoman said.

Felipe Gutierrez, 41, was listed in satisfactory condition at UC San Diego Medical Center with a fractured right leg.

Vincent Cabias, 47, in Coronado Hospital for observation with head injuries, was listed in stable condition.