SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Las Vegas man was convicted today of second-degree murder for initiating a chain reaction crash while driving under the influence in 2018 that killed a 25-year-old woman, fractured her infant’s skull, and seriously injured four others.
Irving Abel Aguilar-Calixto, 25, of Las Vegas, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of second-degree murder, one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and five felony enhancements of inflicting great bodily injury.
He is scheduled to be sentenced December 17, 2021 in Department C36 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life plus 10 years in state prison.
On August 23, 2018, at approximately 1:24 a.m., Aguilar-Calixto was driving his Dodge Challenger more than 100 mph on the I-5 freeway after a night of heavy drinking with friends in Anaheim when he crashed into a Prius just north of Lake Forest Drive. Aguilar-Calixto had driven to Anaheim from Las Vegas to spend the evening with friends, but decided to leave the Anaheim property they had rented and drive home to Nevada.
Following the initial crash, the Prius and the Challenger both became disabled, with Aguilar’s Challenger blocking the HOV and #1 lane and the Prius moving to the right shoulder.
A tow truck driver stopped to assist and warn other drivers of the disabled vehicle. Ten minutes after the initial collision, the driver of a Dodge van slammed into the center divider while attempting to avoid the disabled Challenger. The van’s driver left his vehicle partially blocking the HOV lane.
Less than a minute later, another vehicle slammed into the disabled Charger, causing that vehicle to come to a rest on its roof. Two more drivers then slammed into the pile-up.
Less than a minute after those collisions, three more drivers crashed into the wreckage, including 25-year-old Maria Osuna who was driving with her 6-month-old son in her car. Osuna took off her seatbelt to check on her infant son who was strapped in his car seat in the back seat. While Osuna was tending to her injured son, another vehicle crashed into her car, killing the mother of three.
Osuna’s son suffered a neck and skull fracture and four others were seriously injured, including suffering fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle, and a concussion.
Aguilar-Calixto had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit at the time of the initial collision.
“The lives destroyed by the selfish actions of one driver to get behind the wheel drunk is unconscionable,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “That young mother did what any mother would do – rush to care for her injured child – and it cost that mother her life. That little boy will grow up without having a single memory of his mother, but he will always know that her last act on this earth was to protect him at all costs. While we cannot bring that young woman back, we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is done and that the individual responsible for setting off this tragic chain of events is held accountable for his actions.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Feldman of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
