Fresno police say test results confirm Loren LeBeau was drinking and driving less than a week ago when he allegedly hit a family crossing the street. The accident killed Donovan Maldonado and seriously injured his father and baby sister. According to police, LeBeau's blood alcohol level was point 0.11. The legal limit is 0.08.
“.11 is intoxicated. It's not passed-out drunk, but it is very intoxicated,” said Captain Andy Hall of the Fresno Police Department.
Hall says officers are still investigating the accident. Some unknowns are why he didn't immediately stop, whether there was a passenger initially with him, and whether his headlights were on. Hall says there was enough light in the cross walk that LeBeau should have seen the bicyclists.
“This cross walk doesn't have a lot of collisions so indications are that most drivers, 99.9% of them, see pedestrians and stop. So we obviously believe alcohol played a major factor in this collision,” said Hall.
Meanwhile, LeBeau's attorney says that cross walk is dangerous, especially with a light out the night of the accident. LeBeau is a father of four and is reportedly still trying to come to terms with the tragedy.
“[LeBeau] is devastated. It's obvious in talking to him that he's not processing information the way he normally would for a person of his intelligence. He's just in a state of shock over what's happened,” said LeBeau’s attorney, Jeff Hammerschmidt.
LeBeau is scheduled to be arraigned on August 9th in Fresno County court.
Jesse Maldonado is in fair condition and his 18-month-old daughter is in critical condition in the hospital.
