Newport Beach DUI Accident Kills Man
The latimes.com website reported in an article on March 14, 2009 that a driver of a Porsche hit a Ferrari driven by Charles David Lewis Jr. Lewis Jr.’s Ferrari was flung into a light post in Newport Beach where his car was sliced in half. Lewis Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene. Driving the Porsche was Jeffrey Kirby, 51 of Costa Mesa, who is in serious need of anexperienced California criminal defense attorney. Kirby has had 2 previous DUI’s, one in 1985 and one in 2002. He was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
Lewis Jr. was known amongst fighters as “Mask” and was the owner of a successful multimillion dollar apparel company called TapouT apparel. His girlfriend, Lacy Lynn White, 23 sustained a fractured elbow.
According to police reports, Lewis Jr. and Kirby were driving at a fast pace side by side just before the crash. Investigators were still not sure if the cars were in a race. Kirby fled the scene but was quickly apprehended a short period after. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13, almost twice the legal limit of .08. If convicted for his Orange County DUI, Kirby faces up to 19 years and 8 months in prison. Lynn Mari Nabozny, 32, Kirby’s passenger was also arrested but later released. Kriby’s bail was set at $500,000 and deemed a flight risk and danger to the community.
Should Kirby post bail, the commissioner has ordered that no frontal picture be taken of him, since Lewis Jr. knew a lot of friends and followers of the martial arts world.
Kirby’s lawyer, said “Whether those people would be seeking revenge, I don’t know.”
The recent crackdown on DUI cases is understandable — alcohol contributes to a death every 33 minutes and costs the public billions of dollars each year in damages, loss of life and reduced productivity. If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving in Los Angeles, you need an aggressive, reputable and experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney on your side. You need the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf. Please call(310) 277-1707 for a free consultation.
