Citizens vow to take action in response to increasing DUIs

Menifee resident Frank Dominguez was killed in this accident being investigated as a possible DUI. File photo

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A problem with no easy solution is being tackled head-on by a group of local residents who are committed to addressing the growing number of DUI-related traffic accidents.

Karen Kools-Mclaughlin is one of the organizers of a group calling itself the DUI Termination Team. The group held its first meeting in Murrieta June 13 and more than 100 people attended, including law enforcement officials. The group also plans to form a Southwest Inland Empire chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“It has become very apparent we have to start somewhere and do something,” Kools-Mclaughlin said. “Before people say this is a lost cause, let’s educate the community on the laws, see how we got here and what we can do about it.

“Nothing will change if somebody doesn’t try to do something.”

Kools-Mclaughlin has been concerned about this issue at least since Sept. 6, 2017, when she witnessed the death of Joan Lehmer in a horrific crash on Winchester Road in Murrieta. Lehmer was killed instantly by a vehicle driven by a Hemet man who pleaded guilty to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter charges. Police said Christopher Patrick Barbara, 52, was under the influence of drugs when his vehicle crossed the center median and struck Lehmer’s vehicle head-on.

“I was behind the crash when it happened,” Kools-Mclaughlin said. "I ran right over to her, but she was gone. It was just really graphic, the things I saw.”

A movement to publicly address the issue intensified in recent weeks, when three people were killed in traffic collisions where DUI has been proven or suspected.

On May 25, 63-year-old Frank Dominguez of Menifee died at the intersection of Newport Road and Menifee Road when his BMW coupe was struck by a driver speeding through the intersection. The other driver, who has not been identified by police, remains in a hospital with injuries from the collision. A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said this week that charges have not been filed but that the case remains under investigation as a possible DUI.

On June 2, a 15-year-old Murrieta girl was killed when the car she was riding in was struck by a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed on a winding stretch of Rancho California Road near Temecula, police said. Jose A. Zazueta, 19, of Fallbrook was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and faces three felony charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Two days later, 44-year-old Janet Genao of Murrieta was killed in a six-vehicle collision on the 15 Freeway caused by a man who faces seven charges – including murder – for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Javier Caldera, 25, is being held without bail in Riverside.

Those in attendance at the June 13 public meeting listened to representatives of the CHP, Sheriff’s Department, Murrieta Police Department and District Attorney’s Office. Most noteworthy to Kools-Mclaughlin was the misunderstanding among residents about current laws regarding DUI.

Under California law, DUI is a misdemeanor. It can only become a felony charge if a collision causes injury or death; if the suspect has three or more prior DUI convictions; or if the suspect has at least one prior felony DUI conviction.

“People don’t realize this,” Kools-Mclaughlin said. “We want vehicular manslaughter to be a violent felony. And it shouldn’t take four DUIs before it’s a felony.

“Right now, there is zero organized effort in our area to do anything. We’ve got to have a layered approach. We can start by being visible in the community, come up with local programs to get people home safely. Then we should try to leverage local businesses to support this. None of that is happening now.”

Kools-Mclaughlin plans to reach out to local legislators, including Senators Jeff Stone and Mike Morrell and Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, who had a representative at the June 13 meeting.

“If we are going to get any movement on this and involve local businesses, we need help from legislators. It’s going to be ‘who you know’. If anything, we need to increase awareness among the public. People don’t even know who their reps are.

“At our meeting, someone asked where the business owners are. It never occurred to me to leverage the business owners. Establishments who serve customers need to be responsible in addressing this issue.”

The group's next meeting will be this Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m. at Monteleone Meadows, 35245 Briggs Road in Murrieta.