Blog Post

Burglar Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Carlsbad Car Accident


July 07, 2008
Topic: Auto Accidents

During his trial for a series of offences, including first-degree murder and burglary, Karl Russell informed the judge that he didn't remember anything of the 2006 car accident in Carlsbad that he caused, which led to the death of another motorist. He saw blinding lights from heaven, he claimed, and was convinced that it was some surreal near-death experience or sign from above. When his other-worldly experience had passed, the unfortunate motorist, Rodrigo Vega, was dead from injuries he received after his vehicle collided with a speeding and reckless Russell.

The heavens may have been kind enough to bless him with a divine light, but the judge hearing his case was in no mood for such benevolence. He has found Russell guilty of a series of offences, including first-degree murder and burglary. Russell has also been found guilty of vehicle theft and causing serious injury and death while evading police arrest after the car accident.

On September 5, 2006, Russell was actually on the run from a burglary that he had just committed with another partner at an Oceanside residence just 15 minutes earlier. He was on the run from the police, who were hot on his chase. The 1994 Oldsmobile he was driving was also a stolen vehicle. Add to this, he was drunk and speeding at 100 miles-per-hour.

Close to 4:50 am, he approached the intersection of El Camino Real and Plaza Drive, where he collided with a pickup. The driver of that pickup, Rodrigo Vega, was thrown from his seat and killed. He was on his way to work at the Callaway Golf Club when the car accident occurred.

After the car accident, Russell's blood alcohol limit was measured at .13. His attorneys argued on any number of technicalities - that he had already dropped off his burglar buddy a few moments before the car accident, so technically he wasn't really on the run from the cops, and so on. Thankfully, the judge seems to have been in no mood to be lenient with a burglar in a stolen car, speeding and drinking without control, who killed another driver through his behavior. Technicalities and visions of divine lights were obviously not sufficient to get Russell off the hook.

Sentencing for him will be announced on August 26, and Russell faces up to 26 years in prison. Considering the amount of destruction he's caused to the family of Rodrigo Vera and others who have been impacted by his brazen disregard of the laws and criminal activity, prison seems like the safest place for him to be in.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.