The Orange County Register reports that a DUI driver will stand trial for murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child stemming from a DUI accident in which he crashed into a tree.
Danny Calvin Ruiz, 36, of Laguna Hills was formally charged with two counts of murder after crashing his Chevrolet Blazer into a palm tree in San Clemente on May 3, 2008, killing his girlfriend Andrea Gerdon, 33, and her unborn child. Prosecutors allege Ruiz was DUI speeding home from a wedding reception while driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .17% when he crashed.
Ruiz is being charged with what is known as a Watson Murder (a.k.a. DUI murder) as a result of a prior 2008 misdemeanor DUI conviction on the theory of implied malice. At the time of his plea, Ruiz signed a guilty plea form that acknowledged he understood that he could be prosecuted for murder if he were responsible for the death of another while driving under the influence.
Accused DUI driver, Ruiz, is also being prosecuted pursuant to California’s Three Strikes Law after serving 15 years for a 1995 carjacking conviction. Undoubtedly, a conviction on the DUI murder charges will mean a life sentence for Ruiz who is being held without bail in Orange County Jail.
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