Following a drunk-driving rollover crash which killed his passenger, 17-year old Gerardo Chacon, 21-year old Reyes Miranda is now facing charges of vehicular manslaughter and causing great bodily injury while under the influence of alcohol.

According to the authorities, Miranda was over-speeding on East Vista Way near Mason Road before he lost control of his 1990 Ford Mustang. He struck a guardrail and bus stop shelter before the car rolled over several times.

Chacon, who is a junior at Vista High School, got partially ejected from the vehicle and died on the road. Miranda also suffered injuries and had to wear a neck brace when he appeared in court.

Following the crash, Miranda’s BAC level was measured at 0.11 percent which is well above California’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Miranda’s attorney, Herb Weston is claiming that the manslaughter charges should be dropped against his client as there isn’t enough evidence to support the claim that Miranda was speeding.

Generally, a rollover crash occurs due to the driver’s loss of control of the vehicle and for the following reasons:

• Driver loses control of vehicle, it slides sideways and “trips” over an object such as curb, guardrail, tree stump, or soft or uneven ground.
• The vehicle is going too fast or speeding and the driver makes a sharp turn.
• The vehicle gets flipped by a guardrail or other ramp-like object or when the vehicle falls sideways or front-first down an embankment.
• High center of gravity and additional cargo and passengers in the vehicle.

Drunk drivers are more likely to overspeed than regular drivers and speeding, as seen from above is directly related to vehicles rolling over. A vehicle moving at a high rate of speed is more likely to rollover because the driver would lose control of the vehicle.

There is a greater risk of death and injury in rollover crashes compared to other kinds of vehicle mishaps. This is especially true for occupants such as Chacon who may or may not wear a seatbelt, as most rollovers usually lead to partial or full ejectment of occupants from the vehicles.