LIVERMORE (KRON) Brian Jones has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury for crashing his car into a Livermore apartment building killing a mother and her child.
Officer David Boyes investigated the case. In his official declaration to the court, Boyes said that he got a search warrant for the event date recorder (EDR) on Jones’ Corvette. That data showed that Jones was driving at speeds of up to 99 miles-per-hour in a posted 35 miles-per-hour zone when his airbag deployed.
Boyes’ investigation led him to believe that the airbag deployed when Jones lost control of his car and crashed into the concrete curb. Statements from witnesses and surveillance video corroborated what Boyes determined.
This is not Jones’ first DUI arrest. He had previously pleaded guilty to a DUI charge. Police did not say when that arrest happened.
In the Declaration of Probable Cause, Boyes ended by saying that Jones “knew of should have known that his actions were likely to result in the death of another person.”From the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office:On May 3, 2015, defendant Jones, while under the influence of alcohol, drove his car at speeds ranging from 75 mph to 99 mph through residential streets of Livermore, CA. At 6:50 pm, the defendant failed to negotiate a turn in the 900 block of Murrieta Blvd. and left the roadway. Defendant Jones struck and killed Esperanza Morales and her 14-month-old daughter Yulida as they walked on a pathway before slamming into the rear of a relative’s apartment. The incident also resulted in serious injury to two children, ages 6 and 7, who were playing in the rear patio area of the apartment at the time.WATCH: Raw Video: Family confronts suspect in Livermore DUI case
Jones was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, gross vehicular manslaughter.
Tests indicate that Jones was driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.14 percent.
Livermore Mayor John Marchand said that the deadly crash following Jones’ visit to a wine festival is about personal responsibility, not the wine event. “Mr. Jones chose to get behind the wheel after drinking and lost control of his car,” said Marchand.
Marchand said there were 270 craft booths in downtown Livermore during the wine festival and only ten per cent were wine- and beer- related.
He said, “It is estimated that up to 150,000 people came to enjoy our downtown over the weekend but only ten percent of those attending chose to taste the wines and beers.”
Marchand added that, “The festival is designed to discourage heavy drinking since patrons are limited to a one ounce pour per station. They then walk to the next station, stand in line and wait for the next one ounce pour. Beers were limited to three ounce pours.”
The stations were spaced throughout the downtown area and waits between pours averaged 15 to 20 minutes, Marchand said.
Employees at the wine festival were trained to recognize people who were impaired, according to Marchand. Four people were identified as impaired and were arrested for public intoxication, he said.
Marchand also said “It is important to recognize that almost two hours elapsed from the time that pouring stopped at the festival and the time that the accident occurred” and alleged that it’s likely that Jones chose to continue drinking elsewhere after the festival.