A man from Placentia has been arrested and faces charges of vehicular manslaughter more than a year after allegedly crashing into a disabled vehicle and killing the car’s driver, authorities announced Thursday.
The crash occurred on Nov. 2, 2021, just after 7:30 p.m., in the area of Carbon Canyon Road and Ruby Street in Brea. Officers with the Brea Police Department responded to the area on reports of a major traffic collision.
At the scene, police discovered that a vehicle had become disabled in the roadway, creating a traffic hazard. The disabled vehicle, according to authorities, was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by the suspect, Charles Brown.
“The force of the collision pushed the disabled vehicle into the driver, who was standing beside it on the road. The victim sustained major injuries and died,” a Brea PD news release states.
A toxicology report taken from blood samples of the suspect detected both alcohol and cocaine in his system, according to police.
“Over the next several months, our Traffic Unit worked tirelessly on this investigation, resulting in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filing criminal charges against the suspect for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and several related felony DUI offenses,” the release noted.
On Tuesday, the OCDA’s office issued an arrest warrant for Bown. He was taken into custody Wednesday, with bail set at $100,000.
No information was provided on why it took authorities 16 months to bring charges against Brown.