A man has been charged with murder in a deadly DUI crash that occurred hours after he was released from the hospital after a fentanyl overdose.
21-year-old Luis Marcial Diaz was charged one felony count of murder in the death of 61-year-old Kyu Chen, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
On Sept. 27 around 4 a.m., Diaz reportedly ran a red light at the intersection of Sand Canyon Road and Irvine Center Drive, hitting Chen who was driving through the intersection on a greenlight.
“This is a tragedy that should have never happened,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
“Just hours before Mrs. Chen was murdered, doctors managed to save the defendant from overdosing on drugs. Instead of taking that near-death experience to heart, he continued to engage in incredibly dangerous behavior and it cost Mrs. Chen her life. She was just driving to work and now she is dead. And the tragedy of it all, is she didn’t have to die.”
If convicted, Diaz could face 15 years to life in prison. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
Officials said Diaz was previously charged with driving under the influence in 2019. He pleaded not guilty at the time.
Diaz being held at the Intake Release Center on $1 million bail.
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