Prosecutors filed murder and other charges Thursday against a man who was allegedly driving drunk when he slammed into another car in Long Beach last week, killing the other driver, authorities said.
David Michael Garrison, 38, of Bellflower, is accused of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense and driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08%, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Dennis Van Nguyen, 64, of Westminster, died in the 6:20 a.m. crash on March 23 at Anaheim Street and Pacific Coast Highway, according to the Long Beach Police Department and Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
He was at the wheel of a 2009 Kia Spectra headed north on Pacific Coast Highway just prior to the crash, Long Beach police said in a written statement.
Garrison was eastbound on Anaheim Street in a 2003 Nissan Altima, at “a high rate of speed,” when he tried to make a right turn onto Pacific Coast Highway, lost control and careened into Nguyen’s Kia, police said.
Paramedics pronounced Nguyen dead at the scene.
Garrison suffered significant injuries in the collision and was treated prior to his formal arrest on Monday, according to officials and Los Angeles County booking records.
A 28-year-old man had been riding as a passenger in the Nissan, officials said. It was unclear whether he suffered injuries.
“The defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged,” DA’s office spokesman Ricardo Santiago said in a written statement.
Bail for Garrison was set at $2 million, records show.
An arraignment hearing initially scheduled for Thursday was continued until April 16, Santiago said.
