Suspected Drunken Driver Kills Passenger on Center Avenue

A young life was claimed in Gilroy over the weekend, this one not to gang violence, but to a suspected drunken driver.  

At 8:30 p.m. Friday, David F. Lopez, 25, of Gilroy, was driving southbound on Center Avenue toward Omar Avenue, "at an unsafe speed," Gilroy CHP reported. 

He took a curve in the road at that speed, which sent his 1992 Honda Civic into a utility pole. The impact killed Lopez's 30-year-old male passenger, also from Gilroy.

According to a CHP release, Lopez was arrested for suspected DUI, but suffered major injuries and was transported to Valley Medical Center. 

Last week, the Gilroy CHP announced a .