Driver Charged in Crash That Killed 4 Was on Probation for DUI, Police Say
The man charged Tuesday with drunk driving and killing four people in West Covina last weekend was on probation for driving under the influence, authorities said.
Steven Ernest Estrada, 26, pleaded guilty a year ago to drunk driving and was placed on three years’ probation, police said.
He was scheduled to be arraigned today in West Covina Branch Superior Court on charges of felony drunk driving and four counts of vehicular manslaughter. His bail was set at $1 million.
“He shouldn’t have been driving,” said Cpl. Rudy Lopez of the West Covina Police Department.
A court order prohibited Estrada from driving anywhere except to work or alcohol counseling until June.
It also prohibited him from drinking or going to bars, authorities said.
Police said Estrada broadsided a car at Cameron Avenue and California Street at 1:25 a.m. Sunday. The driver, Emily Grace Santos Kabigting, 23, of West Covina, and her passengers, Virgilio Sediaren Leano, 34, of West Covina, Dom Miguel Devera, 22, of Covina and Marilyn Albay, 25, of Covina, were killed. The victims were all wearing their seat belts, Lopez said.
Estrada and a male passenger were treated for injuries that were described as not life-threatening. The crash occurred near Estrada’s home on St. Malo Street in West Covina.
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