Murder Charges Dropped
Marcos Barbosa Costa, a commercial truck driver was charged with murder when his runaway big rig killed a man and his 12-year-old daughter in La Cañada, Flintridge last April. Last week, those charges were dismissed.
The Pasadena Superior Court judge who dismissed the charges did so because she did not believe there was sufficient evidence to prove implied malice…a fact which must be proven before a judge/jury can convict a defendant of murder.
“Implied malice” is a state of mind which, in essence, means that you perform an act with a complete disregard for human life.
What’s interesting about this case is that an off-duty firefighter testified that he was behind Costa prior to the accident when he warned Costa that “the road was steep, he was travelling too fast, and that his brakes were smoking”. Prosecutors believe that Costa therefore had sufficient information to avoid the accident but acted with implied malice when he continued driving in an unsafe manner.
This is the same standard that is used to charge individuals with second degree murder for deaths that result from California DUIs. Although this charge is rare, it may be filed against an individual who…because he/she has suffered at least one prior DUI and therefore has first-hand knowledge about the risks involved with drinking and driving…suffers another DUI that results in death to another.
The rationale is that when you are provided with information about the dangers of an act…and choose to ignore that information…you will be punished more severely than someone who wasn’t given those same warnings.
Costa still faces charges for two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.
