Fugitive for 8 Years Pleads No Contest in Traffic Deaths

A man who eluded police for eight years after causing a crash in Reseda that killed two women pleaded no contest Tuesday to manslaughter, drunk driving and other charges and agreed to a prison sentence of 3 years, 8 months.

Ruben Perez Lemon, 28, of Woodland Hills entered the plea after prosecutors said they would not seek the maximum sentence of 4 years, 4 months in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for July 12 in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Lemon pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, a charge of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving while intoxicated.

On Aug. 1, 1982, Lemon’s car ran a red light at Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard and struck a second auto, killing Carrie Sue Hanzlik, 23, and Paula Ann Colicci, 21, who were best friends, police said. Lemon, who fled the crash scene but was arrested later at his residence, jumped bail and fled to his native Mexico, police said.

Lemon was arrested again May 10 after a Los Angeles police detective recognized him at a Woodland Hills street corner. The detective, George Cardenas, said he never gave up looking for Lemon, whom he immediately recognized because of the man’s distinctive crossed left eye.

Because the crash occurred before the passage of tougher drunk-driving laws in 1985, Lemon cannot be sentenced to the maximum term of 13 years now in effect for such crimes, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dver said.

Among those who fought for the tougher laws was Ruth Hanzlik of Granada Hills, who became active in Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her daughter’s death. Ruth Hanzlik, who attended Tuesday’s hearing in Van Nuys Municipal Court, said afterward that the sentence was the most she could hope for given the length of time since the crash.

“I understand what happened there” in court, she said. “It’s extremely hard to get the witnesses now. Rather than go to trial and risk losing everything, we had to go with this.”