Garden Grove Man Charged In Saturday's Fatal DUI Crash

GARDEN GROVE, CA —A Garden Grove man was charged Tuesday with driving drunk and causing a hit-and-run crash that killed a man and injured another victim in Garden Grove over the weekend.

Mario Miguel Hernandez-Lopez, 38, was charged with one count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, all felonies, as well as two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run with property damage.

Hernandez-Lopez, who also faces a sentencing enhancement allegation of fleeing the scene of vehicular manslaughter, is being held on $100,000 bail, jail records show.

Pedro Vergara, 27 of Garden Grove, was killed in the crash that occurred just before 11 p.m. at Woodbury Road and Libby Lane, according to Garden Grove police Lt. Mario Martinez.

A white Nissan Titan pickup truck eastbound on Woodbury was speeding as it approached Libby and slammed into the rear of a Toyota Camry, which was stopped at the intersection, police said. The force of the collision propelled the Toyota through the intersection before it collided with two parked cars.

Hernandez-Lopez, who was behind the wheel of the Nissan, lost control of the truck, which slammed into a retaining wall on the north side of the street, police said. The suspect tried to flee but was quickly arrested, police said.

Vergara was pronounced dead at the scene and a passenger in his car was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries, police said.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.