Driver Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Car Crash

A man who allegedly split a case of beer with his brother before speeding down a Hawthorne street into the back of another car, killing a woman, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving.

Juan Camacho, 29, entered the plea in Inglewood Municipal Court. Camacho, who is being held on $50,000 bail, was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing July 30. If convicted of the two felony charges, Camacho faces as many as 10 years in state prison.

Camacho’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Armando Wood, could not be reached for comment.

Prosecutors say they still may seek a murder charge against Camacho, whose blood-alcohol level after the early-morning crash July 11 was 0.19%, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%, Deputy Dist. Atty. Timothy Smith said.

Witnesses told police that Camacho may have been driving his 1978 Datsun more than 65 miles an hour down Prairie Avenue when he rear-ended a 1984 Ford Thunderbird driven by Aljerriah Williams, 53, of Los Angeles.

Williams’ car was pushed into the intersection at Prairie and El Segundo Boulevard. Witnesses tried to pull her from the wreckage, but she was burned to death when the gas tank in her car exploded in flames.

Camacho suffered moderate injuries in the collision. He was booked into the County-USC Medical Center jail ward. Camacho’s brother, Hector, who was a passenger in the car, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.

Relatives told police that the brothers were drinking together for several hours before the accident. They had just concluded a weekend visit at their sister’s house near Hawthorne and had begun the long drive back to their home in Modesto when the crash took place.

Smith said police are investigating whether Camacho had prior drunken-driving convictions under an alias. He said the record under Camacho’s name is clean.

In order to file a vehicular murder charge, Smith said, prosecutors must be able to show that Camacho demonstrated implied malice before the crash. Previous convictions for drunken driving could be a crucial factor in supporting the more serious charge, he said.

“At the time of the preliminary hearing, if we feel we’ve got everything nailed down, we can argue for a murder charge,” Smith said. “The chances of our doing that would increase greatly” if investigators find a previous conviction.