Wrong-Way Driver Was on Drunk-Driving Probation

The wrong-way driver who crashed into a car on a freeway in Cerritos late Wednesday, critically injuring a mother and her two young children, was on probation for a hit-and-run accident while driving drunk 2 1/2 years ago, court documents show.

Under the terms of his probation, Sung Wan Choi, 36, was fined $965 in 1988 and ordered to attend an alcohol treatment program after slamming his van into two cars in Garden Grove, slightly injuring two motorists.

In three months he attended 18 sessions, including six Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Afterward, the program’s director wrote that the Torrance house painter and father of two small boys appeared to have “gained solid awareness of (driving under the influence) and its deadly consequences,” records show.

But this week, two policemen and several motorists watched in horror as Choi drove the same Dodge van the wrong way for miles at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h. on the Artesia Freeway, before slamming head-on into the car carrying the mother and her two toddlers.

Choi, who was booked for investigation of felony drunk driving, remained in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Friday, after surgery to remove a lung and a rib, authorities said.

Rebecca Carvellas, 21, of San Pedro, the car’s driver, was listed in serious condition at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach Friday. She was being treated for two broken legs, numerous facial cuts and other injuries, authorities said. Her daughter, Rachael, 2, also in serious condition, with fractures of the left shoulder and left leg, and son Zachariah, 3 1/2, whose condition remained extremely critical, were being treated at Long Beach Memorial.

Authorities said the boy, who suffered severe head injuries, was connected to life-support systems and may have brain damage.

“After all the talk and all the laws, if somebody has the keys to a vehicle and they’re bent on drinking, what’s going to stop them?” said Victor Carvellas, 31, of San Pedro, the children’s father.

When the accident occurred on the westbound lanes of the freeway, Rebecca Carvellas and the children were on their way home to San Pedro.

In the neighborhood of well-kept houses in the 4600 block of W. 179th Street in Torrance, where Choi lives, his neighbors described him as a hard worker devoted to his wife and two children, ages 5 and 3. But they said they knew little about the family.

“I’ve seen him in the yard playing with the kids, but since they speak Korean, and most people around here don’t, there isn’t much interaction,” said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified.

Choi’s wife, Kyung Hwa, who speaks limited English, said she had notified police after her husband failed to come home from work Wednesday. Using a housekeeper as an interpreter, she said she was too upset to talk about the matter.

In the 1988 incident, Choi was charged with a misdemeanor in connection with a hit-and-run incident and driving under the influence after Garden Grove police stopped him for running a stop sign. His blood alcohol level at the time measured .18, nearly twice the then-legal limit of .10. Authorities have not disclosed what his blood alcohol level was at the time of Wednesday’s accident. Current law presumes a driver legally drunk with a blood alcohol level of .08.

Authorities said that if found guilty in the freeway accident, Choi will probably face additional penalties for violating the terms of his three-year probation.