Driver in Crash That Killed 4 Is Charged With Manslaughter

A Newhall man was charged with manslaughter Wednesday in the deaths of four people killed Sunday in a head-on collision in Sylmar.

Andres Flores, 24, was charged with four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts of felony driving under the influence.

Flores, who received internal injuries and a broken collarbone in the accident, is in critical condition at Holy Cross Hospital, where he is under a 24-hour police guard. His bond is $125,000.

Killed in the collision on San Fernando Road were Arthur Harrison, 37, and his wife, Elizabeth Harrison, 28, of Sylmar. Their two sons were critically injured. Steven Harrison, 2, is in critical condition at Holy Cross, and Truson Harrison, 7, is in fair condition at Childrens Hospital.

Two passengers in the Flores car also were killed: Jose Luis Flores, 20, and Guillermo Montoya, 36, who both lived at the same Newhall address as Flores.

After the accident, tests showed that Flores’ blood-alcohol content was .20%, twice the level at which someone is considered intoxicated, police said. Just three weeks before the accident, Flores was arrested for drunk driving.

If convicted, Flores may face a maximum prison sentence of 17 years, said Assistant Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Larry Diamond.

Diamond said he chose not to file stiffer second-degree murder charges against Flores because he did not feel that prosecutors could prove that Flores knew his actions were likely to endanger another’s life and that he acted with a “conscious disregard for life”--requirements under the law.