Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Drunk-driving case spills onto city

Three beers, vodka shots, and then I-15

Rodolpho De La Torres (left) with wife and two children
Rodolpho De La Torres (left) with wife and two children

The family of a man killed by an alleged drunken driver filed a wrongful death claim with the City of San Diego on October 23, the first step before seeking legal action.

Rodolpho De La Torre, 55, and Teresa Hernandez. 84, died in a head-on collision on May 2, 2015, when their car collided with a car driven by 21-year-old Shane MacDonald, who was traveling north in the southbound lanes.

De La Torre was driving his mother-in-law (Hernandez), his wife, and two children to the airport when MacDonald's car struck them. De La Torre's wife and children suffered serious injuries.

Sponsored
Sponsored

MacDonald, also injured in the crash, was later charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. According to testimony given at MacDonald's October 22 arraignment hearing, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, MacDonald told authorities that he had had three beers and a few shots of vodka at a party before getting in the car. After leaving the party, MacDonald drove to a Mexican restaurant in Mira Mesa. After getting his food, MacDonald drove north on I-15’s southbound carpool lanes. The lanes had recently been opened as part of an expansion.

MacDonald's trial is set for April 2016.

A day following the arraignment hearing, the surviving members of the De La Torre family filed wrongful death claims with the City of San Diego, according to a document obtained by the Reader in a public records request. Filing a claim is required in order to pursue legal action.

In all, ten claims were submitted on behalf of relatives of Rodolpho De La Torre and Teresa Hernandez. Each claim were directed at the city's Traffic and Engineering Department. All listed bodily injury and property damage as reasons for the claims.

The claims were verified on October 23. The city has 45 days to respond to the claim. An answer is expected in early December.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Happy accidents on the Bob Ross soundtrack

Jason Lee and Dave Klein craft new sounds for a classic show
Next Article

Vista imagines car-free downtown

Following Encinitas and Pacific Beach
Rodolpho De La Torres (left) with wife and two children
Rodolpho De La Torres (left) with wife and two children

The family of a man killed by an alleged drunken driver filed a wrongful death claim with the City of San Diego on October 23, the first step before seeking legal action.

Rodolpho De La Torre, 55, and Teresa Hernandez. 84, died in a head-on collision on May 2, 2015, when their car collided with a car driven by 21-year-old Shane MacDonald, who was traveling north in the southbound lanes.

De La Torre was driving his mother-in-law (Hernandez), his wife, and two children to the airport when MacDonald's car struck them. De La Torre's wife and children suffered serious injuries.

Sponsored
Sponsored

MacDonald, also injured in the crash, was later charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. According to testimony given at MacDonald's October 22 arraignment hearing, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, MacDonald told authorities that he had had three beers and a few shots of vodka at a party before getting in the car. After leaving the party, MacDonald drove to a Mexican restaurant in Mira Mesa. After getting his food, MacDonald drove north on I-15’s southbound carpool lanes. The lanes had recently been opened as part of an expansion.

MacDonald's trial is set for April 2016.

A day following the arraignment hearing, the surviving members of the De La Torre family filed wrongful death claims with the City of San Diego, according to a document obtained by the Reader in a public records request. Filing a claim is required in order to pursue legal action.

In all, ten claims were submitted on behalf of relatives of Rodolpho De La Torre and Teresa Hernandez. Each claim were directed at the city's Traffic and Engineering Department. All listed bodily injury and property damage as reasons for the claims.

The claims were verified on October 23. The city has 45 days to respond to the claim. An answer is expected in early December.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

JamPinoy: one cafeteria line, two cultures

Pick your island cuisine in Vista's new Jamaican-slash-Filipino eatery
Next Article

Novo Brazil puts is kombucha to good use in cocktail

Carnival a Dama brings Brazilian culture to the menu
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader