Fatal Crash Suspect Has Drunk-Driving Record

A suspected drunk driver who led police on a chase from Los Alamitos to Long Beach, where police said he struck and killed a woman and her two sons, had twice been convicted of drunk driving, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Raul Ochoa, 47, of Long Beach, was convicted of drunk driving in Los Angeles County in 1988 and in Riverside County in July, 1990.

Police said he ran a stoplight Sunday evening in Long Beach during a high-speed chase and smashed his Cadillac broadside into a Toyota Tercel.

Vicky Lynn Newberry, 35, and her two sons, Tramell, 6, and Travis, 4, were in the Toyota, which was beginning to make a left turn. Newberry and her older son died at the intersection of Lakewood Boulevard and Spring Street.

Travis died at Long Beach Community Hospital, said Scott Carrier, a coroner’s spokesman.

When Ochoa slammed into the Newberrys he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.25%, more than three times the legal limit for drivers, according to Long Beach police. The California legal maximum for blood-alcohol content is .08%.

Officers from Long Beach and Los Alamitos were attempting to stop Ochoa as he fled west on Spring Street.

Witnesses who saw Ochoa before the accident told officers he was weaving through traffic and seemed to nod off at the wheel while waiting at intersections, said Long Beach Police Officer Margarita DeWitt.

Shortly before the 8:20 p.m. collision, Ochoa had been seen driving his car erratically in Los Alamitos, police said. Ochoa hit one car and then continued driving, said Los Alamitos Police Sgt. Arl Farris.

The motorist whose car was hit called 911 on his cellular phone.

Los Alamitos police attempted to stop Ochoa as he raced through their town, authorities said.

They continued the chase into Long Beach, where they were joined by at least two Long Beach squad cars, Farris said.

When the crash occurred, police were about a quarter-mile behind Ochoa because they had been stopping at traffic lights, Farris said.

When asked if the collision was caused by the police pursuit, Farris said, “There’s no real way of telling at this point. We were pretty far behind him.”

Ochoa suffered a fractured sternum and a cut lip. He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center’s jail ward and booked on suspicion of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, DeWitt said. He is scheduled for arraignment today.

Police said Newberry’s family lived in West Virginia, where Newberry lived until moving to California.