Man Accused of Driving Drunk and Killing His Daughter Declared a Fugitive

An arrest warrant was issued today for a 32-year-old father accused in a drunken driving crash that killed his 5-year-old daughter and injured his three other children when he failed to appear for a court hearing.

Antolin Brito Soto of San Juan Capistrano was scheduled for a preliminary hearing today at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, but when he failed to appear he was declared a fugitive and bail was set at $150,000, according to prosecutors.

Soto’s blood-alcohol level was measured at .18 percent -- more than double the legal limit -- about 90 minutes after the March 22 crash, according to the prosecution.

Soto is charged with grossly negligent vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury and driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or more causing bodily injury, all felonies, according to Deputy District Attorney Anna McIntire.

Soto is also facing a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license and sentence-enhancing allegations of personally inflicting great bodily injury, causing bodily injury and or death to multiple victims, driving with a blood-alcohol content of .15 percent or more and great bodily injury to a child younger than 5.

Soto was driving his Ford Explorer westbound on Junipero Serra Road about 6:50 p.m. when he went through a T-shaped intersection at Camino Capistrano. The SUV continued into a parking lot at the Silverado Senior Living complex and went over a curb before crashing into an embankment, according to Orange County sheriff’s officials.

Soto’s daughter, Yuliana Brito Segura, was killed in the crash. His three other children, 2- and 12-year-old daughters and an 8-year-old son, were treated at a hospital for injuries described at the time as moderate to major.

Soto could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

--City News Service