Man Convicted of Murder in Crash Death of Newport Beach Recreation Leader

A 23-year-old man involved in a pre-dawn Valentine's Day drunken driving crash that killed a Newport Beach recreation leader and  cancer survivor was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder.

Gustavo Adrian Vega of Costa Mesa also was convicted of hit-and-run resulting in death and felony possession of cocaine in connection with the Feb. 14, 2010, collision that killed 20-year-old Cara Lee. The jury, which started deliberating Wednesday afternoon and reached a verdict by 3:30 p.m. Thursday, acquitted Vega of misdemeanor hit-and-run with property damage.

"I'm glad justice was done,'' said Lee's father, Randy Lee.

"It won't bring her back so there's no good feeling or bad,'' Lee's mother, Jackie Lee, said. "But he won't be able to do this to anyone else for a long time.''

"Cara Lee died because Mr. Vega did not want to be held responsible for his actions,'' Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez said. "And he was held accountable for his actions by this jury today.''

Lee was a college student pursuing a modeling career, Deputy District
Attorney Jason Baez said. She was also a Newport Beach recreational youth leader who survived cancer when she was 17, he said.

Vega—who had been convicted Dec. 11, 2006, of misdemeanor DUI—was warned several times by court officials that he could be charged with murder if he became involved in a fatal drunken driving crash.

Before the fatal crash, Vega had gone to the Taqueria Tapatia restaurant on First Street in Santa Ana with a few of his friends. As he backed his Toyota Tundra pickup truck out of the parking lot, he was involved in a minor fender-bender, Baez said. The jury did not find enough evidence to convict Vega of that accident.

Marisela Sandoval, who was in the car, confronted Vega and told him to stay at the scene to exchange insurance information, but Vega kept going, Baez said. Sandoval ran into the restaurant to get her boyfriend, Todd Highman, who also told Vega to stop.

Highman got into his car and tried to follow Vega, but the defendant lost them, Baez said. Vega then dropped off his two friends and was driving on Flower Street when Highman and Sandoval spotted him and waved for him to pull over, he said.

Instead, Vega accelerated, ran a red light on Flower Street at Sunflower Avenue in Costa Mesa and his truck slammed into a 2003 Toyota Corolla westbound on Sunflower, Baez said. Hao Nguyen, who was driving the Corolla, suffered minor injuries, but his passenger, Lee, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Vega ran away after the crash and was found hiding in a nearby housing complex. He had a blood-alcohol content of .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit, about two hours after the crash, and police found cocaine in his pants pocket, Baez said, adding that a blood test showed Vega had a mix of alcohol and cocaine in his system.

The truck's Event Data Recorder indicated Vega was approaching 90 mph in a 35 mph zone before the crash and was going 61 to 64 mph at the time of impact, Baez said.

Defense attorney Daryl Thompson argued that Vega was not guilty of
second-degree murder because he had a "fight or flight'' response when Highman and Sandoval were waving at him to pull over.

"It's 2 in the morning in Santa Ana and Mr. Vega thought they were
gangbangers he was having problems with and he was scared,'' Thompson said in his opening statements in the trial.

—Paul Anderson, City News Service