SUN VALLEY : Man Whose Son Died Faces Murder Charge
A North Hollywood man was charged Tuesday with murder in the death of his 5-year-old son, who was killed when the man was involved in a traffic accident, allegedly while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Pedro Guzman, 34, faces second-degree murder charges in the death of his son, William, and is being held in County Jail in lieu of bail of $1 million.
California law allows drunk-driving suspects to be charged with murder if they have prior DUI convictions and if they have been to school to learn about the dangers of drunk driving.
Guzman has three prior convictions, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert L. Cohen. Los Angeles Police Detective Ron Vega said that after the accident, Guzman had a blood-alcohol content of 0.13%, well over the legal limit of 0.08%.
“He knew somebody could die, but he drove anyway,” Cohen said.
The boy was killed during the accident on Riverton Avenue near Arminta Street in Sun Valley just after 6 p.m. Saturday.
Guzman allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle being driven by Gilbert Ramirez, a 24-year-old Sun Valley resident, who pleaded no contest to driving while under the influence. He was sentenced to 193 days in jail. The city attorney’s office had charged Ramirez with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.
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