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4 Year Old Boy killed in Hwy. 101 truck crash in South San Jose, California; driver is being held on DUI charges

James Lee is arrested in connection with a crash that killed 4 year old.

James Lee is arrested in connection with a crash that killed 4 year old.

A 4-year-old boy was killed Sunday night in South San Jose after an alleged drunken-driver returning from a heavy metal concert slammed into the back of the family’s broken down pickup truck.

 James “Jimmy” Francis Lee’s blood-alcohol level was “about twice the legal limit” of 0.08, said California Highway Patrol Officer Brien Rayner. “He said he fell asleep.”

About 6 p.m., the boy’s father had been unbuckling his 4-year-old son from the back of the family’s Chevrolet S-10, which was parked on the shoulder of southbound Highway 101 near Bailey Avenue when a Ford F-150 smashed into the truck. The boy’s mother and 12-year-old sister had already gotten out of the truck and were not injured.

Lee, 44, of San Jose was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Rick Sung. He has not yet been arraigned, and has until Wednesday to be formally charged if he remains in custody. 

The Santa Clara County coroner’s office identified the boy as Jose Cortes-Diaz of Gilroy. 

The names of his parents and sister were not made public. The boy’s father suffered a broken jaw and fractured rib, according to the CHP reports.

The CHP said the collision caused the Ford to roll over onto its roof and the Chevy to roll down an embankment. The CHP noted that the Ford had been traveling about the speed limit of 65 mph or 70 mph at the time of the accident. 

The crash sent a tool box from the pickup bed of the family’s Chevy flying right into Jose’s head.

“Oh Jesus!” Lee’s father, James Lee Sr., 64, of San Jose, said in an interview when he was alerted of the boy’s death by the Mercury News. “I am so sorry for that little boy. Everybody likes my son. He’s a great kid and a good-hearted guy. But he had no business driving.”

Lee Sr. said he believed his son was at a concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on Sunday, where bands were playing in the Rockstar Mayhem Festival. Lee Sr. said his son, a father of two daughters, had recently bought a home in Gilroy. Father and son have worked for about three decades together as truck mechanics in San Jose.

Emergency crews said Jose was barely breathing when they arrived.

“The little boy was wedged behind the driver’s seat,” said San Jose fire Capt. Chuck Rangel. “He wasn’t doing too good.”

Firefighters pried him out with the Jaws of Life and hoisted him into a LifeFlight helicopter and flew him to San Jose Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

At the time, Santa Clara County sheriff’s helicopter happened to be flying in the area. Pilot Rob Heyde and partner, Deputy Leo Gonzalez, saw there were injuries down below, and traffic was beginning to jam up. The two decided to make an emergency landing on 101, after clearing the freeway using their public announcement system.

“They really went overboard to help,” said Sung, of the sheriff’s office. They were joined by a San Jose police motorcycle officer who was also there by chance.

Lee Sr. said his son had been in jail perhaps 15 years ago, but he couldn’t remember for what. Lee Jr. has no criminal record as an adult in Santa Clara County. According to a records search by the Department of Motor Vehicles, Lee is a commercial driver who had a spotless driving record.

Lee Sr. said his son, who attended Del Mar High School in San Jose, had been trying to get his life together after a bad relationship. But according to his father, Lee Jr. didn’t have a known drinking problem.

“I wasn’t aware of one,” Lee Sr. said.

San Jose Car Accident Attorney Website / San Jose Truck Accident Attorney Website

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1 Bicyclist dead, 2 hurt in horrendous crash in the Angeles National Forest

Southern California Bicycle Accident AttorneyOne local bicyclist was killed and two more injured Saturday when they were hit by an alleged drunken driver on Bouquet Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest, officials said.

“It appears the drunk driver ran into a group of bicyclists that were riding in the canyon,” said Sgt. Brian Allen of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “Two of them were injured and taken to the hospital, and one additional bicyclist was killed.”

The dead cyclist was identified as Joseph Novotny, 43, of Stevenson Ranch.

California Highway Patrol investigators said Marco Valencia, of Canyon Country, was traveling northbound on Bouquet Canyon Road just south of the Big Oaks Lodge when he came to a sweeping left turn in the canyon roadway.

Valencia’s pickup truck allegedly crossed the double yellow lines, traveling into the southbound traffic lane toward a group of cyclists, including Novotny. Valencia’s truck allegedly struck three of the riders and continued northbound, leaving the scene of the collision, according to a CHP news release. Valencia also allegedly sideswiped a Hyundai; the driver was uninjured.

Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers located Valencia, 20, in his 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck further north along Bouquet Canyon Road and south of Elizabeth Lake Road, Allen said.

Novotny was pronounced dead at the scene. Rigoberto Himenez Jr., of Saugus, and George Munana Jr., of Valencia, were transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, according to CHP reports. Two other riders suffered minor injuries.

Valencia, who was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, was arrested and taken to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station to be booked for investigation of several felony charges, including murder, driving while under the influence and/or drugs causing death and hit-and-run causing death, the CHP report said.

He was being held on more than $1 million bail.

Bouquet Canyon Road near the 33000 block – in the Texas Canyon area – was closed about four hours Saturday following the accident, which occured just before 11 a.m.

Jane Skalak, a member of the Santa Clarita Velo cycling group, said she saw the group that included Novotny riding up the canyon as she and others were descending. She said word of the accident spread quickly throughout the cycling group.

“It’s a tragedy,” she said. “As a cyclist, you expect people to respect you and be able to share the road, but the reality is that it doesn’t happen and when somebody’s drunk on a Saturday morning, it’s a tragedy.”

In 2006, Anthony Robert Estrin, an active board member of the Velo cycling group, was hit and killed by a drunken driver on Sierra Highway.

“If I had a dime for every time I thought about what could happen while I’m out riding, I’d be a rich woman. But it’s what we do; we love to ride,” Skalak said.

Maria Gutzeit is a cyclist and advocate with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition who rides Bouquet Canyon a couple of times a week.

She said cyclists are certainly aware the canyons are twisty and car drivers need to be alert and give cyclists some room.

But the fact that the driver was apparently driving under the influence is “absolutely inexcusable” and “just tragic,” she said.

When one local bicycle shop manager heard about the fatality, he was not surprised.

“It happens a little too often out here,” said Curtis Meadows, service manager at Valley Bikes in Newhall. “I just moved out here two years ago. There are too many erratic drivers out here.”

Meadows said he stopped riding on Bouquet Canyon Road because there are too many drivers who don’t pay attention.

I am utterly appalled at this accident. If this guy was in fact drunk, he should be charged with murder and dealt with accordingly. He has killed an innocent bicycle rider, injured others, and caused grief with family and friends all because we wanted to get drunk and drive.

If you or your family was a victim in this accident or any other accident, you may call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 ext. 1

Southern California Bicycle Accident Attorney Website

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