VAN NUYS : Man Gets 10 Years in Fatal Crash
A Ventura mechanic who already had two drunk-driving convictions on his record has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a drunk-driving accident that killed a Van Nuys woman in Kern County.
Bakersfield Superior Court Judge Roger D. Randall on Monday sentenced William Carl Brussow, 36. To avoid standing trial on a second-degree murder count, Randall had pleaded guilty to a charge of vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk.
Brussow was charged with causing a two-car crash on Highway 99 near Bakersfield on Aug. 1 that killed Ruth Price, 53, a passenger in the other vehicle.
California Highway Patrol officers said they found a half-full bottle of whiskey and three unopened bottles of beer in Brussow’s car.
A test showed that Brussow’s blood-alcohol level was .15, nearly double the legal limit to drive of .08.
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