Man in Custody Dies of Terminal Condition

A twice-convicted drunk driver awaiting trial for killing a man in a March drunk-driving accident died while in Sheriff’s Department custody at Western Medical Center here Wednesday, sheriff’s officials said.

Steven Edward Schumacher, 38, of Fountain Valley was suffering from a terminal medical condition, said Lt. Ron Wilkerson.

He had been in custody since March 25, when police say he ran a red light at Ellis Avenue and Bushard Street in Fountain Valley and slammed into a Honda, killing Roberto Ferrer, a 22-year-old Westminster man who was a passenger. Three others were injured.

Schumacher was first hospitalized with a head injury related to the accident, then transferred to the medical ward of the Men’s Central Jail on March 26, Wilkerson said. By March 30, his condition had deteriorated and he was taken to the jail ward of Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Schumacher was convicted of drunk driving in 1985 and 1991. Records show that he was driving on a suspended license when he crashed into the Honda, and that he was expelled at least four times in recent years from court-ordered counseling programs, once because he arrived at a session under the influence of alcohol.

Although he was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving, his background prompted prosecutors to charge him with murder.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Molko said the case against Schumacher was dismissed Wednesday on news of his death. Molko said Schumacher had a brain infection that might have been related to his illness.

He had not been arraigned on the murder charge because a Municipal Court judge deemed him incompetent to stand trial. The move set in motion a proceeding to have Schumacher examined by doctors to determine if he was able to understand the proceedings and assist his lawyer.

“We got a report saying he was not communicating with his lawyers,” Molko said Wednesday. “The next thing that I heard was that he was not doing well, and the next thing I heard was that he died early this morning.”