DUI Driver Nearly 2X Legal Limit In Crash That Killed 73-Year-Old Grandmother: Prosecutors

DOWNEY, CA — Prosecutors say a man accused of killing a 73-year-old grandmother and injuring her granddaughter when he crashed into a home in Downey last month was driving nearly two times the legal drinking limit.

Ryan Mota, 24, of Maywood, was charged Wednesday with one count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and driving with a 0.08% blood alcohol concentration or more causing injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Mota, according to prosecutors, was driving Downey during the early hours of Aug. 16 with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.15%. At some point, he drove through a home in the 9500 block of Gallatin Road and into a family's bedroom, prosecutors said.

Agia Guirguis, 73, and her 24-year-old granddaughter were sleeping when Mota crashed into them, authorities said. Guirguis died at the scene, while her granddaughter was hospitalized, according to authorities.

When officers arrived at the scene, Mota refused to take part in a test to determine whether he was driving under the influence, prosecutors said. Arrest records show he was taken into custody about an hour after the crash.

“There is no excuse for driving under the influence,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement Wednesday. “My heart goes out to the victims and their families who experienced an unimaginable waking nightmare."

Mota's bail has been set at $200,000. He faces a maximum of 13 years and eight months in state prison if convicted of the crime, prosecutors said.

"For anyone thinking about driving drunk, be warned: Prosecutors will hold you fully accountable for the harm and suffering you cause," Hochman said.