Manslaughter Suspect Pleads Not Gullty in Double-Fatal DUI Crash Case

Updated 9:30 a.m. Dec. 14.

Justin Foulds had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he slammed into the back of an SUV at 65 mph, killing a grandmother and grandson, says deputy district attorney Gordon Paul Davis.

According to Davis, Foulds, 39, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.26 percent on a field test administered at the scene of the crash Friday night in La Mesa. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

The Lemon Grove man pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon in El Cajon Superior Court to four felony counts, including two counts of vehicular manslaughter stemming from the fiery four-car wreck on state Route 125.

Davis told Judge Charles Ervin that the defendant's actions—including going 65 mph during rush-hour in an area where traffic is known to be stop-and-go— represented a danger to the public. Ervin raised Foulds’ bail from $500,000 to $750,000.

According to Davis, Foulds, an installer for Division 8 Inc. in El Cajon, is alleged to have started drinking around 3 p.m. Friday, in a parking lot adjacent to his work site. He then went to a local bar with co-workers, where two pitchers of beer and whiskey shots were consumed, according to Davis.

Early reports, , said Foulds have been at an office party prior to the fatal crash.

The incident took place about 5:30 p.m. Friday on southbound state Route 125 near Interstate 8.

Foulds is accused of crashing his truck into the read-end of a Nissan Pathfinder, killing the driver and passenger—Celia Torres, a 73-year-old grandmother, and her grandson, David Gonzalez, a 16-year-old sophomore at Grossmont High School.

The crash is still under investigation, but Davis says the CHP found evidence that shows Foulds may have attempted to brake prior to the crash.

The prosecutor said preliminary reports indicate 15 feet of skid marks at the crash scene.

“It appears it was a quick stop at highway speeds and it was a rear-end collision into the Nissan Pathfinder,” the prosecutor said outside court.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Highway Patrol will shut down the southbound lanes of state Route 25 at Interstate 8 to further survey the scene of the double fatality, according to Caltrans. Traffic will be detoured onto the latter freeway during the closure, which is expected to last about three hours.

Several members of the victims’ family were in court for the arraignment. Afterward, Jessica Chavez, who is David Gonzalez’s cousin, said the family has been holding up well since Friday, and it was important for them to be in the courtroom “to represent my grandmother and cousin.”

Three family members held each other as one sobbed in the hallway outside the courtroom.

Foulds was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, and charged with vehicular manslaughter.  If convicted, Foulds faces a sentence of 12 to 13 years in jail, says Davis.

He has no criminal record, according to Davis. Foulds is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 22 for a readiness conference and Dec. 27 for a preliminary hearing.

—City News Service contributed to this report.