Shandon man pleads not guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter, DUI
The Shandon man accused of killing a passenger when he crashed his vehicle on Creston Road on Sunday pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment Thursday.
Eusebio Ruiz-Luis, 31, is charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence and two felony counts of driving under the influence. He also faces multiple felony enhancements for causing great bodily injury and for having a prior DUI conviction from 2012. The manslaughter plea carries a sentence range of 16 months to four years in state prison, while each DUI count has a range of 16 months to three years.
According to California Highway Patrol, Ruiz-Luis was driving north on Highway 41 on Sunday afternoon when he made “an unsafe turning movement,” causing him to lose control of his vehicle. The vehicle rolled several times, and the front seat passenger, Artemio V. Pacheco, was killed as a result of the crash.
Ruiz-Luis remains in custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he is being held on $100,000 bail.
Andrew Sheeler: 805-781-7929, @andrewsheeler
This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Shandon man pleads not guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter, DUI."