http://www.ocregister.com/articles/adenhart-gallo-fullerton-2360542-thursday-police
FULLERTON – The minivan driver accused of broadsiding a car carrying Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and three others has been charged with three counts of murder, prosecutors said this afternoon.
Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
Gallo, a Riverside resident, is also charged with felony counts of fleeing from the scene of a traffic collision involving death or permanent injury, driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol causing injury. Gallo also faces sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily harm, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.
The charges stem from a three-car collision that left Adenhart, 22, and two others – Courtney Stewart, 20, and Henry Pearson, 25 – dead and a fourth person in critical condition. Police said that Gallo's blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit the night of the crash.
“This Angel and his two friends were too young to be sent to heaven,” Rackauckas said. “But the defendant selfishly and recklessly got behind the wheel after getting drunk, and they didn't have a choice.”
Police said the minivan driven by Gallo was heading east on Orangethorpe Avenue at 12:20 a.m. Thursday, when it went through a red light and crashed into a Mitsubishi traveling south on Lemon Street. The impact sent the Mitsubishi into a third car and then into a street pole. The driver of the third car sustained moderate injuries, police said.
Stewart, the driver of the Mitsubishi, and Pearson, a passenger, died at the scene. Adenhart was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he died from his injuries several hours later.
The fourth passenger, former Cal State Fullerton baseball player Jon Wilhite, was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, hospital spokesman John Murray said today.
"His family and our staff believe his injuries are survivable," Murray said.
Accident investigators believe the minivan was traveling 65 mph, Fullerton police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said. The posted speed limit in that area, he said, is 35 mph.
The driver of the minivan, later identified as Gallo, fled the crash scene on foot, running east on the 91 freeway. Anaheim police arrested him almost two miles away from the scene at State College Boulevard and Orangethorpe.
A passenger in the minivan, Raymond Alexander Rivera, 21, of Corona, was hospitalized with minor injuries. No charges have been filed against Rivera, who is Gallo's stepbrother, and he has been released from the hospital, police said.
Hamilton declined to say exactly what Gallo's blood alcohol content was after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08. Gallo was driving on a suspended license as a result of a 2006 conviction for drunken driving.
In the 2006 case, Gallo pleaded guilty to a single count of driving under the influence as part of a plea agreement. “I understand that if I continue to drink and drive it may result in death or serious bodily injury to another person,” he wrote in small, capital letters in a statement he signed.
All of the occupants of the Mitsubishi except Pearson were wearing seat belts, according to Hamilton.
Fullerton police interviewed Gallo for several hours. Hamilton said Gallo didn't show any remorse during the parts he witnessed. Hamilton would not speak in any detail about what they talked about in those interviews.
“Mr. Gallo was very matter-of-fact and calm,” Hamilton said. “He didn't seem to be upset. He was talking normally and speaking very clearly.”
Rackauckas said Gallo faces up to 54 years to life in prison, if convicted on all counts.
FULLERTON – The minivan driver accused of broadsiding a car carrying Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and three others has been charged with three counts of murder, prosecutors said this afternoon.
Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
Gallo, a Riverside resident, is also charged with felony counts of fleeing from the scene of a traffic collision involving death or permanent injury, driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol causing injury. Gallo also faces sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily harm, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.
The charges stem from a three-car collision that left Adenhart, 22, and two others – Courtney Stewart, 20, and Henry Pearson, 25 – dead and a fourth person in critical condition. Police said that Gallo's blood alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit the night of the crash.
“This Angel and his two friends were too young to be sent to heaven,” Rackauckas said. “But the defendant selfishly and recklessly got behind the wheel after getting drunk, and they didn't have a choice.”
Police said the minivan driven by Gallo was heading east on Orangethorpe Avenue at 12:20 a.m. Thursday, when it went through a red light and crashed into a Mitsubishi traveling south on Lemon Street. The impact sent the Mitsubishi into a third car and then into a street pole. The driver of the third car sustained moderate injuries, police said.
Stewart, the driver of the Mitsubishi, and Pearson, a passenger, died at the scene. Adenhart was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he died from his injuries several hours later.
The fourth passenger, former Cal State Fullerton baseball player Jon Wilhite, was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, hospital spokesman John Murray said today.
"His family and our staff believe his injuries are survivable," Murray said.
Accident investigators believe the minivan was traveling 65 mph, Fullerton police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said. The posted speed limit in that area, he said, is 35 mph.
The driver of the minivan, later identified as Gallo, fled the crash scene on foot, running east on the 91 freeway. Anaheim police arrested him almost two miles away from the scene at State College Boulevard and Orangethorpe.
A passenger in the minivan, Raymond Alexander Rivera, 21, of Corona, was hospitalized with minor injuries. No charges have been filed against Rivera, who is Gallo's stepbrother, and he has been released from the hospital, police said.
Hamilton declined to say exactly what Gallo's blood alcohol content was after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08. Gallo was driving on a suspended license as a result of a 2006 conviction for drunken driving.
In the 2006 case, Gallo pleaded guilty to a single count of driving under the influence as part of a plea agreement. “I understand that if I continue to drink and drive it may result in death or serious bodily injury to another person,” he wrote in small, capital letters in a statement he signed.
All of the occupants of the Mitsubishi except Pearson were wearing seat belts, according to Hamilton.
Fullerton police interviewed Gallo for several hours. Hamilton said Gallo didn't show any remorse during the parts he witnessed. Hamilton would not speak in any detail about what they talked about in those interviews.
“Mr. Gallo was very matter-of-fact and calm,” Hamilton said. “He didn't seem to be upset. He was talking normally and speaking very clearly.”
Rackauckas said Gallo faces up to 54 years to life in prison, if convicted on all counts.
As bad as that was, this is its equal: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cop-dan-ryan-fatal-crashapr11,0,464812.story?page=1
an Ryan crash: Off-duty cop held in collision that killed 2
Authorities say detective walked away from scene as vehicle burned
<dl class="byline">By Dan P. Blake, Joel Hood and Angela Rozas |Tribune reporters<dd> April 11, 2009</dd></dl>
<!-- sphereit start --> The passersby pulled on and pried at the crushed and burning vehicle's doors, trying to no avail to save the trapped motorists inside.
But a second driver who caused the fatal wreck walked away from the chaotic scene onto an expressway ramp, until a tow-truck driver and police officers stopped him, authorities said.
Now that driver, an off-duty Chicago police detective—who sources say was drunk with a blood alcohol content three times the legal threshold—is facing reckless homicide, DUI and other charges.
Joseph Frugoli, 41, slammed into a disabled car on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Friday, igniting the fiery crash that killed two people, authorities said. Frugoli is in police custody at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated for injuries from the crash.
Related links
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<!-- END rail --> Andrew Cazares, 23, of the 7700 block of West 62nd Place in southwest suburban Summit and Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago died on impact, state police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
The crash occurred a little after 3:35 a.m. north of 18th Street on the southbound Dan Ryan Expressway. Cazares apparently had pulled his red Dodge over to the side of the Dan Ryan, possibly to deal with a flat tire, when the vehicle was struck from the rear by a Lexus SUV, state police said.
Frugoli was charged Friday evening with two counts each of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence and one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for State's Atty. Anita Alvarez. Frugoli is expected in Bond Court Saturday.
The Chicago Police Department said it has launched an internal investigation and has relieved the detective of his police powers. Frugoli, an 18-year veteran, worked in the Wentworth Area on the South Side.
Manzera and Cazares were good friends who were planning to spend Thursday night at a nightclub, said friend Fabian Chavez. The two went to the Mannequin Nightclub, just a few blocks from a bar where, police say, Frugoli may have been drinking. The friends may have been on their way back to the home of Manzera's father in Bridgeport, where Manzera lived, Chavez said.
Witness Marcus Copeland said he pulled over after seeing a bright flash and then a car aflame on the side of the expressway early Friday. He exited his car just north of 18th Street and heard another motorist yelling for help.
"He said, 'Someone's in there, bro. Let's go!' " Copeland said later. "We ran and rushed to the car. The person's not saying anything, the person was knocked out."
Copeland said the back of the car was on fire. He grabbed a crowbar from another motorist and tried prying the door open but couldn't. Someone even offered a golf club, he said.
"It was just too hot. We kept trying to reach in and grab the person, but the wind was blowing right in my face," he said. "We kept going to the car and then moving back to cool off.
"We just couldn't get to [the passenger]," said Copeland, 20. "There was nothing we could do. It was just the two of us."
Witnesses helped Frugoli from his vehicle because they thought his vehicle might catch fire too, state police said.
Frugoli walked away from the crash and was arrested on an exit ramp. Marisa Kollias, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said a tow-truck driver at the scene followed the detective and helped police find him a few blocks away.
Sources said police are investigating whether Frugoli was drinking at a Greektown bar before the crash. Employees at the bar Friday afternoon said they didn't recognize the officer's name. Frugoli is a homicide detective who worked the midnight shift in the Wentworth Area but was off duty at the time of the crash.
Frugoli was described by one former colleague as a good officer with few problems who loved his job. He is unmarried and both of his parents are deceased, the source said. His mother died in February. Frugoli also has a cousin on the force, the source said. A woman who answered the phone at the family's home declined to comment.
"He's a good person, a good policeman," said the police source, who has known the officer for years. "I've never seen him upset, never mad at anybody."
Jason
"I've never even seen him drunk, and I've known him for 20 years," Brown said. "Honestly, he's a great guy. He does a lot for this community. He's a good guy, and it's a shame. It was a bad mistake, I guess."
Frugoli had a few traffic incidents in the past. A Cook County judge on Tuesday ordered Frugoli to pay more than $7,000 in damages in a civil case involving a January 2005 crash on the Dan Ryan near 31st Street. Frugoli struck a 61-year-old man's vehicle from behind, pushing it into a median wall, and was cited for failure to reduce speed in that crash. The ticket was dropped.
Frugoli was cited in January 2008 for disregarding a stop sign on the South Side, but that ticket also was thrown out, court documents show. Two sources said there was an internal investigation into that incident. He allegedly struck a police vehicle near 39th Street while off duty, but that investigation was dropped.
In 1990, Frugoli was cited for driving 80 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. zone, court documents show, but that ticket also was thrown ou
<!-- google ads --> <!-- END google ads -->At a gathering of friends and family members at Cazares' home, one of Cazares' cousins described him as a hardworking, family-oriented man who was working to turn his life around after some difficult teenage years. Cazares attended Argo Community High School in Summit and lived with his parents.
"He was a good kid," said the cousin, who declined to give his name. "He was working construction and trying to make a better life for himself. ... It's very upsetting. He was so young and had a lot of life to live."
Manzera, 21, was a marketing student at DePaul University who loved art and music, friends and family said. He was a skateboarder, painted graffiti and went by the nickname "Afro," said friend Antal Alatorre, 22.
"It's tragic," said Chavez, 23. "[Manzera] was a really talented artist, and he wanted to get more into music. He had a lot of plans."
Cazares also was an artist and carried a notepad and pen with him for drawing, friends said. Cazares sometimes went by the nickname "Evol," which is "love" backward, a neighbor said.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard the news," said Vernazier Myles, a neighbor whose daughter Amber grew up with Cazares. "He was a real sweet kid."
Tribune reporters Matthew Walberg, Azam Ahmed, Robert Mitchum, Sara Olkon, Gaynor Hall and Pat Curry contributed to this report. Brown, a neighbor of the police officer, said he was shocked when he heard the news of the crash.
an Ryan crash: Off-duty cop held in collision that killed 2
Authorities say detective walked away from scene as vehicle burned
<dl class="byline">By Dan P. Blake, Joel Hood and Angela Rozas |Tribune reporters<dd> April 11, 2009</dd></dl>
<!-- sphereit start --> The passersby pulled on and pried at the crushed and burning vehicle's doors, trying to no avail to save the trapped motorists inside.
But a second driver who caused the fatal wreck walked away from the chaotic scene onto an expressway ramp, until a tow-truck driver and police officers stopped him, authorities said.
Now that driver, an off-duty Chicago police detective—who sources say was drunk with a blood alcohol content three times the legal threshold—is facing reckless homicide, DUI and other charges.
Joseph Frugoli, 41, slammed into a disabled car on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Friday, igniting the fiery crash that killed two people, authorities said. Frugoli is in police custody at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated for injuries from the crash.
Related links
- Witness to crash: 'We kept trying to reach in'
-
Dan Ryan crash kills two Photos - Watch video from crash scene (WGN-TV)
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<!-- END rail --> Andrew Cazares, 23, of the 7700 block of West 62nd Place in southwest suburban Summit and Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago died on impact, state police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
The crash occurred a little after 3:35 a.m. north of 18th Street on the southbound Dan Ryan Expressway. Cazares apparently had pulled his red Dodge over to the side of the Dan Ryan, possibly to deal with a flat tire, when the vehicle was struck from the rear by a Lexus SUV, state police said.
Frugoli was charged Friday evening with two counts each of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence and one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for State's Atty. Anita Alvarez. Frugoli is expected in Bond Court Saturday.
The Chicago Police Department said it has launched an internal investigation and has relieved the detective of his police powers. Frugoli, an 18-year veteran, worked in the Wentworth Area on the South Side.
Manzera and Cazares were good friends who were planning to spend Thursday night at a nightclub, said friend Fabian Chavez. The two went to the Mannequin Nightclub, just a few blocks from a bar where, police say, Frugoli may have been drinking. The friends may have been on their way back to the home of Manzera's father in Bridgeport, where Manzera lived, Chavez said.
Witness Marcus Copeland said he pulled over after seeing a bright flash and then a car aflame on the side of the expressway early Friday. He exited his car just north of 18th Street and heard another motorist yelling for help.
"He said, 'Someone's in there, bro. Let's go!' " Copeland said later. "We ran and rushed to the car. The person's not saying anything, the person was knocked out."
Copeland said the back of the car was on fire. He grabbed a crowbar from another motorist and tried prying the door open but couldn't. Someone even offered a golf club, he said.
"It was just too hot. We kept trying to reach in and grab the person, but the wind was blowing right in my face," he said. "We kept going to the car and then moving back to cool off.
"We just couldn't get to [the passenger]," said Copeland, 20. "There was nothing we could do. It was just the two of us."
Witnesses helped Frugoli from his vehicle because they thought his vehicle might catch fire too, state police said.
Frugoli walked away from the crash and was arrested on an exit ramp. Marisa Kollias, an Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said a tow-truck driver at the scene followed the detective and helped police find him a few blocks away.
Sources said police are investigating whether Frugoli was drinking at a Greektown bar before the crash. Employees at the bar Friday afternoon said they didn't recognize the officer's name. Frugoli is a homicide detective who worked the midnight shift in the Wentworth Area but was off duty at the time of the crash.
Frugoli was described by one former colleague as a good officer with few problems who loved his job. He is unmarried and both of his parents are deceased, the source said. His mother died in February. Frugoli also has a cousin on the force, the source said. A woman who answered the phone at the family's home declined to comment.
"He's a good person, a good policeman," said the police source, who has known the officer for years. "I've never seen him upset, never mad at anybody."
Jason
"I've never even seen him drunk, and I've known him for 20 years," Brown said. "Honestly, he's a great guy. He does a lot for this community. He's a good guy, and it's a shame. It was a bad mistake, I guess."
Frugoli had a few traffic incidents in the past. A Cook County judge on Tuesday ordered Frugoli to pay more than $7,000 in damages in a civil case involving a January 2005 crash on the Dan Ryan near 31st Street. Frugoli struck a 61-year-old man's vehicle from behind, pushing it into a median wall, and was cited for failure to reduce speed in that crash. The ticket was dropped.
Frugoli was cited in January 2008 for disregarding a stop sign on the South Side, but that ticket also was thrown out, court documents show. Two sources said there was an internal investigation into that incident. He allegedly struck a police vehicle near 39th Street while off duty, but that investigation was dropped.
In 1990, Frugoli was cited for driving 80 m.p.h. in a 50 m.p.h. zone, court documents show, but that ticket also was thrown ou
<!-- google ads --> <!-- END google ads -->At a gathering of friends and family members at Cazares' home, one of Cazares' cousins described him as a hardworking, family-oriented man who was working to turn his life around after some difficult teenage years. Cazares attended Argo Community High School in Summit and lived with his parents.
"He was a good kid," said the cousin, who declined to give his name. "He was working construction and trying to make a better life for himself. ... It's very upsetting. He was so young and had a lot of life to live."
Manzera, 21, was a marketing student at DePaul University who loved art and music, friends and family said. He was a skateboarder, painted graffiti and went by the nickname "Afro," said friend Antal Alatorre, 22.
"It's tragic," said Chavez, 23. "[Manzera] was a really talented artist, and he wanted to get more into music. He had a lot of plans."
Cazares also was an artist and carried a notepad and pen with him for drawing, friends said. Cazares sometimes went by the nickname "Evol," which is "love" backward, a neighbor said.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard the news," said Vernazier Myles, a neighbor whose daughter Amber grew up with Cazares. "He was a real sweet kid."
Tribune reporters Matthew Walberg, Azam Ahmed, Robert Mitchum, Sara Olkon, Gaynor Hall and Pat Curry contributed to this report. Brown, a neighbor of the police officer, said he was shocked when he heard the news of the crash.
I know he kills 3 people and gets like 2 years. Then again this law is made for politicians like Ted Kennedy. Sad :grandmais
Man charged in pitcher Adenhart’s death in court.
By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif.(AP)—The man charged with killing Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart(notes) and two others in a drunk-driving crash is preparing to enter a plea in the case.
Andrew Thomas Gallo will appear in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Monday morning.
The 22-year-old is charged with three counts of murder and three other felonies for the April 9 crash that left the rising Angels star dead.
Police have said Gallo had nearly triple the legal blood-alcohol level when his minivan ran a red light and crashed in Fullerton.
Adenhart died hours after he pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut.
Two others also were killed and a third was critically injured.
Yahoo Sports.
By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif.(AP)—The man charged with killing Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart(notes) and two others in a drunk-driving crash is preparing to enter a plea in the case.
Andrew Thomas Gallo will appear in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Monday morning.
The 22-year-old is charged with three counts of murder and three other felonies for the April 9 crash that left the rising Angels star dead.
Police have said Gallo had nearly triple the legal blood-alcohol level when his minivan ran a red light and crashed in Fullerton.
Adenhart died hours after he pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut.
Two others also were killed and a third was critically injured.
Yahoo Sports.
