P. v. Morales CA2/6
Maricela Marquez and her mother Maria Medina were driving home from a quinceañera on the night of December 1, 2018, when appellant's car crossed into their lane and collided head on with Marquez’s SUV. Medina suffered catastrophic blunt force injuries when her passenger-side airbag failed to deploy. She died shortly after paramedics arrived. Marquez’s airbag deployed and she escaped with minor injuries.
First responders found Morales in the other car semi-conscious and smelling of alcohol. They transported him to Marion Regional Medical Center (MRMC) where surgeons repaired fractures of the hip, tibia, and sternum. They noted a prior head injury in his medical records and ran a CT scan. This revealed a small subarachnoid hemorrhage, but surgeons refrained from operating on his brain when no further bleeding appeared in a scan the next morning. His blood alcohol level measured 0.157 percent two and a half hours after the collision.
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