This week the San Diego District Attorney’s Office received a $900,000 grant to crack down on impaired driving. NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada spoke with a local mother who understands the pain of losing a loved one in a DUI crash.
More than half of all drivers charged with DUI homicide offenses in San Diego County this year were between the ages of 18 and 26, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
The figures represent an increase from last year in the number of DUI homicides allegedly committed by younger drivers, according to the D.A.'s Office, which said 25 people have been killed in 20 separate DUI-related crashes so far this year.
The D.A.'s Office announced the statistics in conjunction with a $899,425 grant the office received this week from the California Office of Traffic Safety to support its DUI prosecutions and public education efforts on DUI driving risks.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement, "Every year, we have an unacceptable amount of fatal DUIs. As the holiday season approaches, people need to make responsible choices, use ride sharing services and keep their friends and family from getting behind the wheel if they are impaired."
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On Thursday, a $600,000 grant was also announced for the county's Department of the Medical Examiner, which will go toward the purchase of new toxicology equipment and funding for toxicologist training. According to the county, the new equipment will be used to determine whether alcohol or drugs were present in cases involving motor vehicle deaths.
A $642,600 grant was also announced earlier this week for the county's probation department to support a probation supervision program for "high-risk individuals" with DUI convictions.
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It's been two years since Alma Sanchez lost her 19-year-old son Joshua Manzanares in a DUI crash.
"It gets hard. I get emotional. It's very, very difficult — extremely painful," Sanchez told NBC 7 on Friday. "It has impacted my family, all of kids, as well as with me. We miss him very, very much."
Manzanares and his friend Johnny Punzalan were killed in April of 2022 when the car they were in overturned near Torrey Pines State Beach.
Police say the driver was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, Xanax and psychedelic mushrooms, and at one point reached speeds of 120 miles per hour. The driver and two others inside the car survived but had serious injuries.
"For us and Johnny's family, the time he got, the driver got 32 years to life," Sanchez said. "For us, it's never going to be enough because the life, you will never get them back. Life is not replaceable. They're gone. They're gone forever."
Paola Conrique with Mother's Against Drunk Driving says this is preventable.
"You can designate a driver, and that way you save your life and you save the lives of the ones around you, too," Conrique said. "The consequences not only can be devastating, but they could also be life-changing ... A DUI can run you up to like 20,000 or more."
Sanchez hopes the new grant makes a difference and that drivers choose wisely before putting their lives and the lives of others in danger.
"Look at our family," she said, "Let us be an example, unfortunately, of what we've been through. It's been very hard."
