Drivers in Tragic Crash Were Drunk

The drivers of two vehicles involved in a massive wreck that injured nine people, including four children, have tested positive for alcohol and will be charged with drunk driving, police said Thursday.

Jose Fernandez, 31, was driving a Chevrolet Blazer with six passengers on the evening of Dec. 26, when he collided with a station wagon driven by Richard Condap in Van Nuys.

Fernandez is likely to be charged with felony drunk driving because there were injuries as a result of the accident, said Detective Rick Talkington of the Los Angeles Police Department. Condap will be charged with misdemeanor drunk driving, Talkington said.

Two children were hurled out of Fernandez’s vehicle, Talkington said. Apparently only one of the passengers in the car wore a seat belt. All nine people survived the collision, Talkington said.

“It was typical (for a drunk driving accident) that there were two cars involved, but it was unusually bad in that there were a lot of passengers in the cars, and four kids without seat belts.”