Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder In Alleged DUI Crash That Killed Long Beach Family On Halloween
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) - A man who allegedly drove drunk on Halloween night and ran down a Long Beach couple and their 3-year-old son was charged Tuesday with three counts each of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Carlo Adrian Navarro, 20, plead not guilty to the charges Wednesday in Long Beach.
Navarro is accused of drunkenly mowing down the family of three on their first trick-or-treat outing together on Halloween night.
The crash killed 30-year-old Joseph Awaida and critically injured his son, 3-year-old Omar, who succumbed to his injuries Saturday. Raihan Dakhil, Awaida's wife and Omar's mother, was taken off life support Sunday.
They were struck around 9:55 p.m. Oct. 31 in the area of Country Club Drive and Los Cerritos Park Place.
According to Long Beach police, Navarro was driving a 2002 Toyota Sequoia southbound on Country Club Drive and failed to make a turn.
Instead, he drove onto the sidewalk and hit the family as they were walking home after a night of trick-or-treating, authorities said.
Navarro was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence but was released Friday after posting $100,000 bail.
Navarro was re-arrested Nov. 5 by Long Beach police in connection with a June burglary investigation, according to Long Beach police.
He faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.
A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the Awaida family has raised more than $230,000.
A candlelight vigil was held last week at Los Cerritos Park in Long Beach.
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