San Diego DUI Turns Deadly

A Chevy Blazer slams into a palm tree and the end result is a woman was dies.  Arrested is a man who just four months ago plead guilty to DUI.

Danny Calvin Ruiz, 35, was being held on $1 million bail after the Dana Point wreck. Orange County Superior Court records show Ruiz apparently has a long history with the law: In 1991, he pleaded guilty to robbery and car theft and was sentenced to two years in state prison. In 1995, he was convicted of carjacking and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was also found to be a habitual criminal.

In November 2007, Ruiz was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence and of driving with a blood-alcohol limit above the state’s legal limit of .08. In that case, he pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to five days in jail, ordered to pay a $390 fine, ordered to participate in a three-month “first offender alcohol program,” a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim’s impact panel and placed on three years probation.

But he was arrested again on Saturday, after a truck jumped the curb and hit a tree while heading west on Camino de Estrella, just east of the San Diego Freeway in Dana Point. Ruiz and his passenger, identified as Andrea Gerdon, 33, of Anaheim, were both pinned in the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ruiz suffered moderate to serious injuries and was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange. He was placed under arrest for suspicion of drunken driving, authorities said.

Transportation officials on Monday worked to replace the signal controller on Estrella near the freeway. Stoplights blinked red, while stop signs had been placed in the street. A small memorial of candles was placed at the base of the palm tree the Blazer struck before flipping over.