Suzanne Amelia Carlson, a 27-year-old
Mission Viejo woman, is currently on trial in the
Orange County Superior Court on charges of
2nd degree murderin relation to 2007
DUI accident which killed her passenger, 55-year-old Scott Turner of
Dove Canyon.
Carlson, who has three prior
driving under the influence convictions, is also charged with
gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated with prior convictions and faces 15 years to life if convicted.
According to the prosecutor’s case, Carlson was drinking for more than two hours at a
Rancho Santa Margarita restaurant before leaving with Turner in Turner’s car. She subsequently veered across two lanes of traffic on the 91 Freeway and rear-ended an 18-wheel Fed Ex truck, smashing the passenger side of Turner’s car, before hitting a wall. Turner died shortly thereafter from massive internal injuries.
Test taken 90 minutes after the accident revealed Carlson’s
blood alcohol level was .22 percent.
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