Doctor Charged With Murder in Fatal Wreck : Courts: Prosecutors say Ronald Allen was ‘acutely aware’ of dangers of driving while impaired.

A Laguna Beach doctor on Monday was bound over for trial on charges of second-degree murder and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in an auto crash that killed a Mission Viejo couple and critically injured their daughter.

Internist Ronald Joseph Allen, 31, who had specialized in treating poor AIDS patients, could face life in prison if convicted in the July 11 collision on Santiago Canyon Road that killed Mark and Noreen Minzey and injured 12-year-old Karie Minzey as the family returned from a softball game.

Allen is to be arraigned Dec. 6 in Superior Court.

During the hearing Monday, it was stated in court for the first time that Allen had ingested a “substantial” level of Valium before the crash, and that his blood-alcohol content about an hour after the crash registered 0.059--below the legal maximum of 0.08.

Hospital officials who treated Allen after the crash noted that he had dozens of “fresh” and older injection marks on his ankles, hands and arms, according to the testimony. Two empty syringes, packets of drugs and a half-empty bottle of red wine were seen in the car just moments after the crash, officials said.

The case marks an uncommon use of murder law. Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Allen is guilty of second-degree murder because his history of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a prior warning from a police officer and his medical background made him acutely aware of the deadly dangers of driving while impaired.

Defense attorneys, however, say prosecutors have overcharged their client, who they say was suffering from severe financial problems, stress and depression at the time of the head-on crash. Just hours before he turned to drugs and alcohol and got behind the wheel of his car, they say, he learned his father had died.

“What he did was wrong. He committed a crime and should be punished severely. But it’s just not murder,” Assistant Public Defender Michael P. Giannini said outside the court. Giannini said he believes manslaughter charges are more appropriate in the case.

Municipal Judge Edward L. Laird also found sufficient evidence to support felony charges of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in the case.

Laird refused, however, to allow prosecutors to introduce a statement they claim shows Allen’s awareness of drunk driving laws--and therefore its dangers.

Upon learning he was facing arrest, Allen allegedly said: “I’m not .08, you can’t arrest me for DUI unless I’m .08.”

Allen allegedly made the statement to police after invoking his right not to discuss the incident with authorities, a factor cited by defense attorneys who sought to have the statement stricken from the court record.

During the daylong hearing, California Highway Patrol Officer Gabriel Montoya testified that several witnesses saw Allen driving erratically, speeding and swerving across the yellow lines just moments before the fatal crash.

Several days earlier, Allen had been arrested in Laguna Beach on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, hit-and-run driving and resisting arrest.

In November, 1992, Allen was stopped in Palm Springs by a police officer who noted that Allen had been drinking. After learning Allen’s profession, the police officer told him: “You should know better than that,” Montoya testified.

Giannini argued that Allen’s driving background did not include convictions, only arrests and traffic stops for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and therefore should not be used to prove his awareness of the danger.