A drunk driver who fatally struck a California Highway Patrol officer in Lake Elsinore was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison.
Michael Joseph Callahan, 39, of Winchester was convicted in August of second-degree murder with a sentence enhancement of causing great bodily injury. Callahan was reportedly driving under the influence of alcohol in 2019 when he struck 53-year-old CHP Sgt. Steven Lawrence Licon of Perris.
Callahan’s blood alcohol level was estimated to be at least twice the limit to legally operate a vehicle. He had a previous misdemeanor DUI conviction on his record from 2004.
The second-degree murder charge likely arose from Callahan’s prior conviction. In California, a DUI offender who prosecutors can show knew the risks of driving under the influence before killing someone can be charged with murder.
Licon was administering a ticket at the roadside of Interstate 15 when he was hit.
Callahan reportedly spent nearly five hours drinking a combination of tequila and beer at an Ontario sports bar with work colleagues prior to the collision.
A Riverside County prosecutor told jurors that Callahan’s co-workers "warned him, implored him, begged him not to get behind the wheel of his car."
Before he struck Licon, Callahan allegedly almost side-swiped two other cars and nearly drove into a concrete divider on the 91 Freeway. Another driver’s dashboard camera captured Callahan’s vehicle speeding “recklessly along grass and gravel and dirt,” according to prosecutors.
He allegedly drove on the shoulder of the road to evade slower traffic.
It was on one such shoulder that Licon had just finished dating a traffic citation when he was hit by Callahan’s Toyota Corolla, reportedly at a speed of 70 to 80 miles per hour. Callahan also struck Licon’s CHP motorcycle and the vehicle the officer was in the process of ticketing.
Licon was pronounced dead an hour later while being treated at a Wildomar hospital. Callahan and the occupants of the ticketed vehicle escaped with only minor injuries.
Licon is survived by a wife, daughter and step-daughter.
