SLO County driver pleads guilty to killing man, injuring wife in DUI crash
A Nipomo man charged with killing an Atascadero resident and injuring another while driving under the influence of drugs in 2021 pleaded guilty to murder Friday, court documents show.
Patrick W. McDuffee II, 34, was charged with killing Glenn Howard Owens, 72, and severely injuring Owens’ 65-year-old wife, Susan Margaret Owens, while driving under the influence of drugs in the area of San Luis Bay Drive and Apple Orchard Lane in Avila Beach on Aug. 6, 2021.
McDuffee’s truck entered a curve in the roadway and crossed into the opposing northbound lane directly into the Owens’ path, CHP said at the time of the crash.
The front end of McDuffee’s Ford F-250 truck collided head-on with Owens’ Mercedes van.
Glenn Owens was pronounced dead at the scene while Susan Owens was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center with major injuries. She was treated in the emergency room and later discharged, a hospital spokesperson told The Tribune at the time.
Court records show McDuffee was convicted of DUI in 2010 and 2016, with a 2009 DUI charge pleaded down to reckless driving.
Under California law, a person convicted of a past DUI may be charged with murder should they drive under the influence again and someone dies as a result.
Just before his trial was scheduled to begin Friday, McDuffee pleaded guilty to murder and DUI with injury, court documents show. Two sentencing enhancements, inflicting great bodily injury and being convicted of committing prior serious felonies under California Three Strikes law, were both found true, according to the documents.
The murder charge carries a 15-years-to-life sentence in prison while the DUI causing injury charge carries a three-year sentence. With the sentencing enhancements, the second charge carries a total of nine years.
McDuffee is expected to be sentenced to serve nine years followed by his 15-years-to-life sentence in state prison on April 25.
His conviction is considered a “super strike” and he will have his driver’s license suspended for the rest of his lifetime, according to the court documents.
If McDuffee makes parole, he will be placed on lifetime supervision.
This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 5:43 PM.
