Local News in Brief : Sepulveda Driver Faces Manslaughter Charge
A Sepulveda man who police say accidentally drove his car into a group of people, killing a woman and injuring a man, was charged Wednesday with gross vehicular manslaughter.
Charles William Farrell, 26, also was charged with two counts of felony drunk driving by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Farrell had a blood-alcohol level of 0.2, twice the legal standard for intoxication in California, following the Nov. 28 accident, said Larry Diamond, assistant head deputy district attorney for the Van Nuys office.
Farrell left a night club at the Airtel Plaza Hotel, 7277 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys, about 2 a.m. and drove his Porsche into a group of people standing in the hotel’s parking lot, according to authorities.
Several people jumped out of the way, but Arlene M. Berns of Sepulveda was struck, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. John O’Toole. Berns was taken by paramedics to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where she died Dec. 3 of head injuries, O’Toole said.
A man struck by the car, Richard L. Portanova, 25, of Canoga Park, was treated at Northridge Hospital for minor leg injuries.
Farrell is to be arraigned on the charges Dec. 22, Diamond said. He remains free on $2,500 bail.
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