Garden Grove Man Pleads Guilty To Vehicular Manslaughter In DUI Crash

October 26, 2009 (by Horatio Algren) According to reports a Garden Grove man pleaded guilty in a deadly freeway crash, while allegedly driving under the influence.

The Garden Grove man is identified as Felipe Navarro Orona age 45, who is facing up to 13 years in prison at sentencing on November 16th by Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals. Orona faces sentencing enhancement for driving under the influence, killing one man and injuring another.

The accident occurred on the shoulder of the I-5 Freeway when Orona struck the two men while they were changing a tire according to Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez. The deadly accident occurred at approximately 3:00 a.m. in Anaheim in the vicinity of the Harbor Boulevard off ramp while Orona was driving a Ford pickup truck at about 55 miles per hour.

The man killed in the accident was 23 year old Jose Castellanos, who sustained blunt force trauma to the head. The injured man Joe Roadriguez age 21 sustained fractures to his skull and jaw and was transported to the hospital from the scene of the accident.

According to Baez the blood alcohol level of Orona was nearly twice the legal limit at .15 two hours after the crash and officers reported signs of intoxication including slurred speech, along with bloodshot and watery eyes.