MADD Official’s Son Dies; Drunk Driver Suspect Held

The son of the woman who heads the Los Angeles chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving was killed and his girlfriend seriously injured when their pickup truck was rammed head-on by a car driven by a suspected drunk driver with two convictions, authorities said Monday.

Adam R. DeJesus, 19, of Canoga Park died shortly after the Saturday night accident on California 18, about 24 miles east of Palmdale, the California Highway Patrol said. Shanya Roberson, 19, of West Hills was in stable condition Monday at Palmdale Hospital Medical Center.

DeJesus was the son of Marcy DeJesus, executive director of the Los Angeles MADD chapter. MADD was founded in Southern California 10 years ago. The organization spearheaded a nationwide campaign against drunk driving.

Darshan S. Grewal, 42, of the Santa Clara County city of Campbell, was arrested by CHP officers on suspicion of drunk driving. Officer Miguel Siordia said Grewal, who was also hospitalized with injuries, could face prosecution for felony vehicular manslaughter.

Siordia said investigating officers heard that Grewal had been drinking earlier in the day, but had no other evidence. It will take at least a week for results of a blood test to show whether Grewal was legally drunk, the officer said.

“It would indeed be a horrible irony if Marcy lost her son to this because it was alcohol-related,” said Ted Goldstein, a MADD board member. “Obviously the office staff and the board of directors of MADD are reeling over this.”

At the time of the collision, Grewal was driving with his brother’s license, Siordia said.

Grewal’s driver’s license had been suspended in July, 1989, because of drunk-driving convictions in 1988 and 1983, Department of Motor Vehicles records show. He had also been forbidden, as a condition of probation, to drink alcohol, a DMV spokeswoman said.

On Monday, Grewal was in stable condition at San Bernardino County Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The collision occurred about 8:30 p.m. Saturday as DeJesus and Roberson were headed east on California 18 about 2 1/2 miles west of the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line. Authorities said the couple were headed for a spring college break vacation at Lake Havasu.

Grewal, driving west on the two-lane road in a 1980 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, crossed into oncoming traffic while attempting to pass a large truck and struck DeJesus’ Toyota pickup at 65 to 70 m.p.h., Siordia said.

“It knocked the Toyota about 20 feet backward,” he said.