A California man with a history of drunk driving is accused of killing a mother and injuring her children in a tragic head-on collision.
Around 6:30 p.m. on May 11, Jose Vargas drove the wrong way on Highway 395 in Hesperia, California. Vargas and his 2003 Chevy Tahoe crashed head-on into a 2018 Toyota Prius – which had Lisette Villasenor, 36, her daughter Ashley, 12, and son Daniel, 6, inside.
Villasenor and her children were transported to a regional trauma center by air and ground. The mother of three was pronounced dead at the hospital. Her two children in the car suffered moderate to major injuries from the devastating car crash that obliterated the Prius.
Villasenor was allegedly driving her daughter to cheerleading tryouts.
Meanwhile, Vargas was reportedly not hurt in the wrong-way car crash.
Vargas was charged with murder in the car collision.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office complaint stated that Vargas committed a felony and did so “with malice” in the “murder Lisette Villasenor, a human being.”
Vargas was on probation at the time of the deadly car crash and has DUI convictions in San Bernardino County, Orange County, San Diego County, and Los Angeles County.
In 2019, Vargas was reportedly convicted of felony DUI, sentenced to 210 days in jail, and three years of probation.
Law & Crime reported, “San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office noted that Vargas’ 2019 conviction came with the signing of a ‘Watson Advisement,’ a term in California law that stems from the decades-old California Supreme Court case People v. Watson. In that case, the court decided DUI drivers can be charged with murder in certain circumstances, particularly when defendants exhibit ‘implied malice.'”
Prosecutors said Vargas signed another Watson Advisement in 2022 after being convicted in Orange County.
The Watson Advisement that Vargas signed stipulated that he could be charged with murder if someone is killed as a result of him driving drunk in the future, according to the New York Post.
Vargas signed off on the statement, “If I continue to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, and as a result of that driving, someone is killed, I can be charged with murder.”
Ashley’s cheerleading team launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for family expenses and medical bills.
“Ashley will never be able to hug her mom again,” the crowdfunding listing read. “A drunk driver stole Lisette’s future with her husband Humberto and three children, Ashley, Julian, and Daniel.”
Repeat California drunk driver killed mom, injured kids in head-on collision: cops | New York Post
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