Wrong Way Driver in Bridge Death Makes His Plea

A Hawthorne man who allegedly drove the wrong way while drunk on the Gerald Desmond Bridge in Long Beach, causing a crash that killed another motorist last month, pleaded not guilty today to murder.

Alvin Ray Shaw Jr., 28, was convicted of DUI in 2014, according to prosecutors, who also charged him with one count each of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense, driving with a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content causing injury within 10 years of another DUI and driving with a license that was suspended or revoked due to a previous DUI conviction.

Police said Shaw was at the wheel of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz sedan, headed west in the eastbound lanes of the bridge, when he crashed shortly after 7 a.m. Aug. 1 into a 2014 Ford Fusion driven by a 21-year-old San Pedro man and 2010 Nissan pickup driven by a 30-year-old man.

The Nissan and the Mercedes burst into flames in the crash, which closed the bridge in both directions for about eight hours.

The pickup’s driver, Miguel Gonzalez of San Pedro, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Shaw and the driver of the Fusion were seriously injured.

The criminal complaint against Shaw includes allegations that he caused great bodily injury and that his blood-alcohol content was 0.15 percent or more.

Shaw remains jailed on $1 million bail while awaiting his next court appearance Oct. 26 in Long Beach.

City News Service; Wikimedia Commons