Murder charge filed in wrong-way Nipomo crash that killed 82-year-old woman
Prosecutors have filed a murder charge against a Santa Maria man accused of driving drunk in Nipomo in December and causing a wrong-way crash that killed an 82-year-old woman.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed several charges Jan. 16 against Edgar Saul Rojas Morales, 23, who is accused of crashing into a vehicle on Thompson Road and killing Maria Medina and injuring another passenger.
The complaint filed by the DA’s Office alleges that Morales’ driver’s license was suspended because of a recent DUI conviction at the time of the crash.
Because of his alleged previous conviction, prosecutors are able to charge Morales with second-degree murder due to a so-called “Watson advisement” DUI offenders must sign that acknowledges they could face a second-degree murder charge if they drive drunk in the future and someone dies as a result.
The complaint does not state when and where Morales’ previous conviction was; San Luis Obispo Superior Court records do not list any prior offenses locally, and Santa Barbara County court records were not immediately available Tuesday.
Morales is also charged with lesser offenses of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, DUI and driving on a suspended license. He pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment Jan. 17 and is due back in court Jan. 28. If convicted of the murder charge alone, Morales faces between 15 years and life in state prison.
His Santa Maria-based attorney, Adrian Andrade, could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.
At about 10:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 2018, Morales was driving a black Honda Accord north in the southbound lane of Thompson Avenue between Rancho Road and East Knotts Street when his vehicle crashed into a black BMW X5, the CHP said at the time.
Medina, who was a passenger in the BMW, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 55-year-old driver of the BMW suffered minor injuries.
Morales suffered serious injuries in the crash and was taken to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, where he was placed under arrest.
On Thursday, Morales was taken into jail custody, where he remained without bail Tuesday.
The DA’s Office has recently prosecuted other Watson murder cases in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. In December 2017, jurors found repeat DUI offender William Mobley, 35, guilty of murder following a month-long trial for the death of a Good Samaritan helping a stalled vehicle on the side of Highway 101. Mobley was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder and other charges and is currently serving his sentence at Wasco State Prison.
Most recently, prosecutors filed a murder charge against 23-year-old Arvin resident Gino Lopez for causing a DUI-related crash near the Cuesta Grade that killed a passenger. In that case, jurors disagreed with the murder charge and in October convicted Lopez of the lesser offense of gross vehicular manslaughter. He is currently serving his nearly 14-year sentence at Wasco.
This story was originally published January 22, 2019 at 6:01 PM.
