Driver Pleads Guilty To Fatal East County DUI Freeway Crash

SAN DIEGO, CA — A man who drove drunk and caused a crash that killed another driver on Interstate 8 in La Mesa has pleaded guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and assault with a deadly weapon.

Iqbal Noory Ibrahim, 32, admitted Tuesday to causing the Oct. 27, 2022, crash that killed 53-year-old El Cajon resident Jeffrey Garde.

Police said Garde was driving a pickup truck that was rear-ended by another vehicle at around 2:30 a.m. that day on eastbound Interstate 8, near Grossmont Boulevard. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Ibrahim, who was originally charged with murder in the case due to a prior 2018 DUI conviction, is set to be sentenced next month to a stipulated term of 25 years in state prison.

According to Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams, Ibrahim had a blood alcohol level of .204% about an hour after the crash, which is more than twice the legal driving limit in California.

— City News Service