Not Guilty Plea in Alleged DUI Crash That Injured Teen

A man accused in a Rancho Bernardo DUI crash that left a 19-year-old in the hospital with brain injuries on her birthday has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Brian Larose, 38, is accused of rear-ending the vehicle of Heidi Wise, a 19-year-old woman from Temecula, on Bernardo Center Drive near Maturin Drive on .

Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Konstanzer said Wise was in the left turn lane when Larose—traveling 60 mph in a 35-40 mph zone according to a witness—rear-ended her vehicle.

Larose's blood-alcohol level was .36 percent—more than four times the legal limit for driving—about an hour and 15 minutes after the crash, the prosecutor said.

Larose admitted to having 10 drinks, first at a pub and then at a restaurant, before the crash, Konstanzer said. Family members said Larose was supposed to be at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that night, she said.

Wise, who spent her 19th birthday in the hospital, suffered head trauma and has a broken rib and fractured vertebrae in her back, Konstanzer said. The Temecula woman also has memory loss, and doctors don't know if she'll fully recover, the prosecutor said.

Larose faces charges of DUI causing injury and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher. The defendant is free on $100,000 bail and faces six years if convicted. A readiness conference has been scheduled for Sept. 9, and a preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 13.

City News Service contributed to this report.