A judge ordered a driver Dec. 5 to stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of Spring Valley resident Gregory Scott who crashed into the driver’s abandoned Jeep on a freeway.
David Armando Olvera, 30, was also ordered to trial for hit and run with death, and two counts of injuring two other drivers who also crashed into the Jeep that was left without lights in two traffic lanes.
A judge ordered a driver Dec. 5 to stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of Spring Valley resident Gregory Scott who crashed into the driver’s abandoned Jeep on a freeway.
David Armando Olvera, 30, was also ordered to trial for hit and run with death, and two counts of injuring two other drivers who also crashed into the Jeep that was left without lights in two traffic lanes.
Scott, 40, was driving home on June 17 when he struck the abandoned Jeep at 2:50 a.m. on Interstate 15 just north of Friars Road and was killed. Three other cars also struck the vehicles, and another driver got a concussion.
The blood/alcohol level of Olvera registered at .21, some hours later and was estimated to have been at .30 at the time which is over four times the legal limit, according to Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar.
Aguilar said Olvera could face a maximum of 22 years to life in state prison if he is sentenced consecutively and given two years for having two prior drunk driving convictions.
Olvera wore blue jail clothes with a chain around his waist and was handcuffed during the 2-day preliminary hearing conducted by San Diego Superior Court Judge Amalia Meza.
Olvera has pleaded not guilty. He remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility. His parents attended the hearing both days.
Gregory and Christy Scott lived in Spring Valley with their two children. They had been married for 23 years and Christy Scott was editor of The Alpine Sun for many years.
California Highway Patrol officer Javier Mendoza testified Olvera crashed his Jeep into the center median and then abandoned it in the two lanes of I-15.
CHP officer James McBreaty testified there was an open container of beer in the car in the cup holder, and several empty cans. The driver’s brown flip flops were left in the driver’s compartment.
CHP officer Brad Clinkscales said Olvera’s parents contacted officers after he showed up at their house after the CHP told them he was wanted for questioning. Olvera had walked barefoot to their home about a mile from the crash.
Olvera said a bearded man at a bar had driven his car, but had no explanation as to what happened that night, said Clinkscales. Olvera said he woke up in shrubbery off the road and didn’t know what became of the bearded man, whose name he did not know, said Clinkscales.
Clinkscales said Olvera was barefoot when detained and had no explanation as to where he left his flip flops. Olvera failed his sobriety tests and had a lot of brush on his clothes.
Clinkscales said Olvera had a red bruise on his shoulder which is consistent with a driver’s shoulder belt injury. Olvera later said after the crash, he hid in brush off the freeway and heard sounds of the cars crashing into his Jeep, he added.
Clinkscales said he looked at the bar’s video and it showed Olvera briefly talking to a bearded man, but said the footage showed him going into the bar’s parking lot by himself.
Ironically, a bearded man at the bar notified the CHP several days later to say Olvera was very intoxicated when he left the bar before the crash, said Clinkscales. The bearded man denied being the driver, he said.
Olvera’s attorney, Charles Millioen, argued it was speculation the Jeep hit the center median that started the chain of events. “There’s too many unanswered questions,” said Millioen.
Aguilar argued Olvera was “drinking a lot of alcohol” that night and left his vehicle in two lanes of the freeway. Aguilar said Olvera was aware of the dangers of drinking and driving because he attended a Mothers Against Drunk Driving panel when he was convicted of misdemeanor drunk driving.
Meza said the case will go before “a jury to decide” at trial. A trial date will be set on Dec. 19.
High bail for man charged of attempted murder
Patrick Christian Douglas, 51, remains in jail on $5 million bail after his arraignment on charges of attempted murder of two women in East County.
Both women were stabbed on Nov. 7 in separate incidents. One woman was found in a parking lot on Second Street in El Cajon, and the other woman was making a delivery at a 7-Eleven store at 4610 Avocado Boulevard in La Mesa.
The motive for the stabbings is not yet known. Douglas has pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court.
Douglas is also charged with assault with a vehicle upon a sheriff’s deputy and evading officers into Dulzura, where he was arrested on Nov. 7.
A preliminary hearing date may change after a court appearance this week. Court records show that Douglas has been convicted of robbery, assault, and burglary. He remains in jail.
