Man charged with killing family of 5 in crash had alcohol level nearly 4 times legal limit, records say

PORTLAND, Ore. — Court records on Tuesday showed that a man charged with killing a family of five in a head-on crash near Salem, Ore., had a blood alcohol level of near four times the legal limit, KPTV in Portland reported.

Police say 27-year-old Favian Garcia, of Gervais, Ore., hit an oncoming car on Highway 99E near Nevada Street on Sunday afternoon, killing 25-year-old Lizette Medrano-Perez, of Molalla, Ore., and her children, 8-year-old Ricardo, 6-year-old Andrus, 4-year-old Dayanara and her 2-year-old niece, Angelina Vazquez-Crisp, for whom she was a temporary legal guardian.

Garcia was taken to the hospital for treatment, and court records show “his blood alcohol content was a .318%,” KPTV said.

He appeared in a Marion County courtroom Tuesday afternoon charged with five counts of first-degree manslaughter, felony DUII, driving while suspended and reckless driving.

 

Court records show Garcia pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants in 2011 and was arrested on suspicion of the same crime in July after he allegedly hit an unoccupied vehicle and fled the scene. He was wanted on an outstanding warrant in that case for failing to appear for a July court hearing in Marion County.