Alleged DUI Driver In Hwy 4 Collision That Killed 2 Children Charged
CONCORD (CBS SF) -- A man who allegedly drove under the influence of alcohol and crashed his car -- killing two young brothers and leaving their mother and 3-year-old brother with major injuries -- before fleeing the scene of the collision on state Highway 4 in Concord Friday night, has been charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.
Lemuel Wilson, 35, is facing two murder charges, as well as two charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense and leaving the scene of an accident, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Bail had been set for Wilson at $500,000. A court date for Wilson has not yet been set.
The collision occurred at about 10:55 p.m. on the highway's westbound on-ramp from Solano Way, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Wilson was allegedly driving a silver 2004 Infiniti sedan that was traveling west on Highway 4.
Wilson then took the Solano Way off-ramp, which is adjacent to the on-ramp, but drove off the off-ramp and slammed into the left rear side of a gray 2006 Dodge Durango that was on the on-ramp, CHP officials said.
Inside the Dodge were 5-year-old Vincent Reyes-Rothenberg and 10-year-old Lorenzo Reyes.
The impact caused the boys to be ejected from the Dodge, which was pushed to the edge of the on-ramp.
Meanwhile, the Infiniti crashed through a fence and stopped just feet from the door of a nearby Kinder's restaurant, according to the CHP.
The two young boys were pronounced dead at the scene while a third child, a 3-month-old boy restrained in a car seat in the Dodge, suffered major injuries and was taken to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.
He remained at the hospital in critical condition as of Monday, CHP officials said.
The boys' 35-year-old mother, who was driving the Dodge, also suffered major injuries and was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, but was released Sunday night, according to the CHP.
Witnesses told officers that the Infiniti's driver, later identified as Wilson, fled the scene and ran across the highway.
After identifying Wilson and notifying Bay Area hospitals about him, officials at Oakland's Highland Hospital later alerted CHP officers that Wilson had come there seeking care.
Officers then arrived and interviewed Wilson, who was officially taken into custody at 12:35 a.m. early Sunday morning and arrested on suspicion of two counts of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run causing great bodily injury and driving on a suspended or revoked license, CHP officials said.
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