Former LAPD Officer Who Killed 3 In DUI Crash Pleads Guilty

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former Los Angeles police officer pleaded guilty Friday to murder and DUI charges stemming from a deadly crash on the 605 Freeway near Santa Fe Springs in 2017.

Prosecutors say Edgar Verduzco, 34, was driving under the influence of alcohol and traveling around 150 miles per hour on the 605 Freeway on Sept. 26, 2017, when he crashed into two vehicles.

The impact sent one of the cars crashing into a center divider where it burst into flames, killing Maribel Davila, Mario Davila and their 19-year-old son, Oscar Davila, according to authorities.

A mother and baby in the other vehicle suffered minor injuries in the crash, according to prosecutors.

Verduzco was also injured in the crash and arrested by California Highway Patrol officers on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs causing bodily injury.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one count of driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol content causing injury.

He faces 15 years to life in state prison for each murder count and an additional three years for the DUI, according to prosecutors.

“As a police officer, Mr. Verduzco was aware that recklessly driving under the influence of alcohol at 150 miles per hour was extremely dangerous to human life and could result in the death of innocent victims, as it tragically did in this case,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement Friday. “Oscar Davila, a beloved student at UC Riverside, was just 19 years old, and his life and his parents’ lives were senselessly taken in an instant."

Verduzco, a Santa Ana resident, was off-duty when the crash happened. He had been with the LAPD for about two years at the time, according to authorities.

City News Service contributed to this report.