Crime & Safety
Man Charged in Fatal Berkeley Crash Involving Village Mom, Son
Click the "Keep me posted" button below this story for updates related to traffic safety. Authorities say the driver was intoxicated and speeding before Friday's fatal accident.
The Alameda County district attorney's office has charged a Berkeley man with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated following a fatal crash last week, authorities reported Tuesday.
Authorities identified the driver in as 24-year-old Jose Lumbreras.
Police say Lumbreras was driving northbound on California Street at 64 mph when he slammed into a round-about and hit a tree.
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The impact killed front passenger Milanca Lopez, 22, and left her 6-year-old son, who was in the back seat, on life support with minor brain function present. Lopez days earlier, and was bound for a master's program at UCLA in the fall.
Lumbreras was taken to Highland Hospital with serious injuries.
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Authorities said Lumbreras's preliminary blood alcohol concentration level was .219 percent. (The legal blood alcohol concentration limit is .08 percent.) Police arrested him Tuesday at Highland Hospital, where he remains, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
In addition to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the district attorney's office charged Lumbreras with several other violations related to intoxicated driving and leaving a victim comatose or paralyzed.
Friends and family of Milanca Lopez have set up a Facebook page in her memory.
Donations to the Milanca Lopez fund can be sent to www.gofundme.com/milancalopez.
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