Personal Injury Solicitors

ANDERSON — Jose Luna Cobarruvias pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of felony driving under the influence in the extensive injuries of a Greenville couple and the death of their 85-year-old passenger, Katy Eaton.

Cobarruvias, who is an illegal immigrant from Mexico but speaks English, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 when he was pulled from the wreckage of his van May 16, 2009. He was unresponsive, had no recollection of the accident and believed for weeks afterward he’d been a passenger in the vehicle.

The collision occurred on a rainy day on U.S. 29 southbound toward Anderson. Cobarruvias was driving 50 mph in a 55-mph zone when his van hit a puddle and swung sharply toward the left, witness Kassandra Smith said. The victims, riding in an Astro van, struck the man’s vehicle almost head-on.

Judge Lawton McIntosh asked Cobarruvias repeatedly if he understood that pleading guilty meant he couldn’t get a jury trial and could not in the future protest any Constitutional violations that might have occurred during his incarceration. When Cobarruvias failed to respond clearly, McIntosh delayed the hearing two hours so his attorneys could obtain an interpreter.

Cobarruvias has been in the country almost 30 years and cobbled together a living doing heating-and-air maintenance and light carpentry in the area. He moved here from California, where he’d attended some high school, about a decade ago.

Public defender Jennifer Johnson said her client spoke and understood English well but was not as clear on the American court system and the implications of his guilty plea – which include automatic deportation once he’s served his time for a felony. The Federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division has a detain order on Cobarruvias pending his release.

The accident’s victims included Susan Sigmond, who suffered neck injuries, cracked ribs and a bruised spleen. Her husband, Raymond, suffered a broken ankle and two bruised ribs. Eaton sustained numerous internal injuries and died after five days in intensive care to extensive kidney damage.

Eaton’s brother refused to speak in court and Assistant Solicitor Jenn Byford said the Sigmonds did not appear because of the accident’s physical and emotional toll on their health.

Cobarruvias’ sister, Maria Luna, said she still couldn’t believe he was driving because he’d always made a point of finding a designated driver. His bruises after the accident and a broken right collar bone led family to believe he’d been a passenger.

Cobarruvias, 45, has four children and two grandchildren, all living in the Anderson area. Seven family members sat in the courtroom; another four, including two small children, waited outside. His daughters and wife sobbed when the sentence was announced.

“He is such a happy person,” Luna said. “Today, he looks so sad.”

Smith was riding in a truck behind the Cobarruvias’ van and said he was driving smoothly until he hit the water. She sat in the courtroom this morning and later consoled Eaton’s brother and several members of the Cobarruvias family.

“I had no idea he was drinking until the officer told me,” Smith said.

Cobarruvias’ attorney, public defender Jennifer Johnson, said her client was immediately distraught when he learned he had to have been the driver. She said he’d been speaking with his pastor in the days before the accident about his drinking problems and had been sober for six months until the weekend of the accident.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/sep/03/illegal-immigrant-sentenced-deadly-traffic-acciden/

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Tags: astro van, blood alcohol content, broken ankle, bruised ribs, constitutional violations, driving under the influence, guilty plea, heating and air, illegal immigrant, immigrations and customs, immigrations and customs enforcement, incarceration, jennifer johnson, jose luna, jury trial, light carpentry, neck injuries, public defender, sigmond, wreckage

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