Driver in Fatal Car Crash Pleads guilty
A California woman, who was operating a vehicle that hit another car, killing the driver and seriously injuring his wife, has pleaded guilty recently in a San Diego courtroom to a manslaughter charge. The accident happened in February of 2013. A seventy seven year old man driving a car that the defendant hit was killed and his wife suffered many broken bones. In a tragic note the woman, Soranon Boopanon, a veteran of the United States Air Force, was on her way to a Veterans facility that is helping her with disabilities related to her 13 year Air Force career.
The attorney for the defense had tried to have the case sent to a military venue but it was settled in a San Diego County courtroom instead. The defendant was under the influence of anti-depressants, including valium, at the time of the accident. The woman ran a red light and, by eyewitness accounts, she speeded up to get through it. She is to be sentenced later this year bringing a close to the case.
She faces up to seven years for the plea and it may be less if the court system can be convinced to take the Defendant’s military service and disability into consideration. That may be difficult to do however due to the fatality involved and her impairment.
The California criminal court system has many cases like this one that aren’t a cut and dried affair. The defendants California criminal defense attorney for instance did try to change the venue of the case to a military one that may have taken her service and related disability into account.
Any person charged with a crime and headed to trial should make the effort to contact a California defense attorney and not leave things up to just making a plea or using a public defender. It’s your life that is at stake and there are many filings and strategies that your attorney can devise to get your case the best possible result.
At the Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, we provide clients with passionate and experienced representation. If you have been charged with manslaughter or any other crime and would like to schedule an initial consultation with a lawyer at our firm, contact us by phone at (310) 448-1529 or contact us online. We promptly return phone calls and emails. Our office is conveniently located in the Westside Towers in West Los Angeles, within minutes of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Westwood. We have flexible and weekend office hours, and we will visit you in jail to discuss your case.
