Family Left Desolate After Mother And Toddler Killed By Drunk Driver

On Saturday, May 2nd, in Livermore, a 35-year old man seemingly lost control of his car, while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, and crashed into an apartment complex on the 900 block of Murrieta Boulevard. Prior to crashing into the apartment complex, the Livermore resident’s car hit and killed a 46-year-old mother and her 14-month-old toddler, Juli.

The driver, Brian Jones, was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and a DUI and had been scheduled for an arraignment for Tuesday morning (May 5th); however, the arraignment was pushed back to May 28th as the prosecution required more time to see what the charges are and what sort of proof they need. As the prosecution did not file any charges against Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones was released on a $350,000 bail.

Is the victims’ family left with no recourse if no criminal charges are filed against Mr. Jones? Not necessarily. If the surviving members of the decedents’ family can prove that the driver, Mr. Jones, truly was negligent at the time of the accident, then they may be entitled to filing a wrongful death action against Mr. Jones. In such a case, the family members will at the very least receive some sort of compensation for their loss form the guilty party.