A Lakewood woman who was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in March is facing murder, manslaughter, and other related charges that could put her in prison for life if she is convicted.
According to the report appearing on the KTLA website, On March 24th, Charlette Ann Colton, 50, is facing several criminal charges after she struck 61-year-old pedestrian, Brian Bogan.
Bogan died 11 days later as a result of the injuries he suffered in the crash.
Also injured in the DUI crash was a 71-year-old man who was left with a crushed leg and in critical condition.
Long Beach Police say that Colton was traveling westbound in a 2000 Dodge Caravan on Del Amo Boulevard near the intersection with Locust Avenue in Long Beach when she rear-ended a parked 1996 Honda Accord.
The force of the impact pushed the Honda forward, causing it to sideswipe a parked vehicle that struck Bogan and the second victim. Police say that a third parked vehicle, a Mercedes E320, was also involved in the incident. All three parked cars were unoccupied at the time.
Records filed with the court indicate that immediately following the crash, Colton got out of her vehicle and attempted to flee the scene on foot. Police found Colton a short distance away from the scene of the crash and placed her under arrest on suspicion of DUI leading to injury. At the time of her arrest, Colton had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.20% – more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%.
Immediately following the crash, Colton’s bail was set at $160,000. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said that the charges against the defendant were amended to a murder charge after Bogan’s death and bail was raised to $2 million.
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In addition to the murder charge, Colton is facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense, driving with a .08% blood alcohol content causing injury within 10 years of another DUI offense and hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury.
Because Colton was convicted of DUI 2012, she could be facing the maximum sentence of life in prison if she is found guilty of all charges in this latest incident.
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