Man Charged With DWI 17 Years After Killing Person in DWI Crash

A man convicted in 1997 of involuntary manslaughter for driving while intoxicated was pulled over by Creve Coeur Police Sunday and faces another DWI charge.

Rafael Gonzalez-Campos, 39, of the 3600 block of Montana Street in the city of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in 1997 to involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault in the city of St. Louis in 1997 for a drunk driving accident, police said.

Gonzalez-Campos was charged Sunday with DWI as a persistent offender.

Creve Coeur Police said officers pulled over Gonzalez-Campos for a traffic offense at 12:24 a.m. Sunday at Olive and Lindbergh boulevards and he showed signs of being drunk.

He did poorly on a sobriety test and refused a breath sample, police said. Officers obtained a search warrant for a blood test and obtained a blood sample, according to a court document.

After pleading guilty to the manslaughter charge in 1997, Gonzalez-Campos was sentenced to five years in prison. The collision was in September 1996.

Gonzalez-Campos posted $2,000, 10 percent of a $20,000 bond, and was released from jail Tuesday.