Orange County DUI Lawyer Blog
Jeffrey David Kirby was driving home drunk in the early morning hours in March in his Porsche when he collided with a Ferrari driven by Charles David Lewis in Newport Beach. Lewis, one of the founders of a mixed martial arts clothing line, died at the scene of the crime. As for how the accident happened, the prosecution claims that Kirby was so drunk that he lost control of his speeding car and hit Lewis. The defense claims that Lewis was driving fast and was trying to get Kirby to race with him when they collided. Since there has not been a trial yet, there are no set facts as to what happened.
As for now, the judge declined a plea deal that would give Kirby a lighter sentence if he would plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter. The judge said that since Kirby had a few DUI’s on his record, he should have known better than to drive drunk and this case should be heard before a jury.
Besides just getting charged with vehicular manslaughter, Kirby will also be charged with a DUI with a blood alcohol level of over .08% and felony hit-and-run. If Kirby is convicted of all of these charges, he will face serious time in prison. Whether you live in Tustin, Buena Park or Mission Viejo, if you are charged with a DUI, you will need an experienced OC DUI attorney to assist you.
If you want to know more about driving under the influence or your own charges, call Orange County criminal defense attorney William Weinberg @ 949.474.8008 in his Irvine office.