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Drunk-Driving Case : Families Sue Car’s Driver, Owner in Accident Fatal to 3

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Times Staff Writer

The families of four victims of a fatal auto accident have filed lawsuits against a Ventura County woman they claim ran down their sons while drunk and the boyfriend who allegedly loaned her his car.

The families are seeking to recover an unspecified amount of damages from Diane Helen Mannes, 34, of Somis and David R. Pena of Camarillo for the March 31 deaths of 14-year-old Jacob Boyd and 19-year-old Joshua Oxenreider, both of Camarillo. The families are also seeking to recover medical expenses and punitive damages associated with the injuries of Jeremy Boyd, 19, and Jeff Botens, 16, also of Camarillo.

A lawsuit against Mannes and Pena will also be filed by the family of a fifth victim--Darin Scott Mullins, 20, of Mansfield, Ohio, who died in the accident, according to Eugene F. West, the Oxenreiders’ attorney.

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‘Mowed Down’

“The boys were mowed down like so many bowling pins,” said Linda Oxenreider at a news conference held by the families and their attorneys Thursday. “Since it is totally impossible to have Joshua back, all we can do is see that the people involved are punished.”

Mannes has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of driving under the influence and causing injury. She is being held in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. Her attorney did not return phone calls from The Times on Thursday.

Pena has not been charged in connection with the accident. He also did not return phone calls from The Times on Thursday.

The criminal and civil prosecutions will proceed simultaneously, West said. While the standard of proof for a criminal case is “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” there need only be a preponderance of evidence to win a civil suit, he said.

Flat Tire

The accident occurred about 8:30 p.m. on the Ventura Freeway westbound near Camarillo as the young men were walking on the shoulder to seek help for a flat tire. They had parked their car and were walking away from it when Mannes’ car sideswiped theirs and flipped over, striking them, said Officer Jim Utter of the California Highway Patrol.

The car with the flat tire was not obstructing traffic lanes, Utter said.

Mannes’ blood-alcohol content was 0.2% when she was arrested shortly after the accident, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas J. Hutchins. California law presumes that a motorist is drunk when his blood-alcohol level is more than 0.1%.

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Four partially smoked marijuana cigarettes were also found in Mannes’ purse, Hutchins said. According to a probation report made public earlier this week, Mannes told a probation officer shortly after the accident that she had quit smoking marijuana about a year ago, Hutchins said.

The night before the fatal accident, Mannes had been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after being stopped by a CHP officer near Tampa Avenue and the Ventura Freeway. At that time, she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.26%, the CHP said. She was held overnight and released the next morning on her own recognizance.

West said police told him Pena arrived at the jail to meet Mannes and promised officers Mannes would not drive. However, Mannes was driving Pena’s car later that evening when the accident occurred.

Stephen Sugarman, a law professor at UC Berkeley, said Pena is being sued under a legal theory known as “negligent entrustment,” in which a person is held liable for damages if he knew or should reasonably have known that his actions would be dangerous to others.

West said Mannes was convicted of one misdemeanor count of drunk driving in Van Nuys Municipal Court in November, 1983.

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