LONG BEACH : Driver Faces Murder Charge in Head-On Crash

A Carson man was charged Monday with murder in connection with a head-on traffic collision that killed his passenger and injured four people in another car.

Eugene Leonard Lee, 34, also was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Deputy Dist. Atty. William E. Smith Jr. said that Lee, who has a DUI conviction, faces 23 years to life in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to be arraigned today in San Pedro Municipal Court and is being held on $1-million bail.

Lee was eastbound on Pacific Coast Highway about 6 p.m. Saturday when his car drove into opposing traffic and crashed head-on into the auto driven by Ellwin Cox, 79, Smith said. Martha Lovato, 37, of Gardena, a passenger in Lee’s car, was killed. Lee and the four people in Cox’s car were injured.

Sophie Carr, 72, was in critical but stable condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach. Cox and his other passengers, Jane Carr, 34, of Lakewood, and Debra Cox, 42, of Long Beach, were treated at area hospitals.