Blog Post

Updates on Two Orange County, California Drunk Driving Accident Cases


May 08, 2008
Topic: Drunk Driving Accidents

Two local DUI cases in the spotlight this week have brought home how important getting the "don't drink and drive" message out to young people in Orange County really is. In the first, the driver accused of driving his car that struck and killed a Huntington Beach teenager has had felony charges filed against him. In the other, a woman who caused the death of her best friend driving while intoxicated in a drunk driving accident has pleaded guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter.

Danny Oates' case is particularly poignant. When the 14-year-old teenager headed back to school in the fall of last year, he was unprepared for the tragedy that was to come. On his bicycle and on the way to school, Danny was struck by a 20-year-old driver. At the time, there was nothing to point that the accident had been anything more than just that - an unfortunate accident. What a difference a few months make. It later came out that Jeffery Woods was not just on drugs at the time of the drunk driving accident, but he was actually in the process of closing a drug deal.

Now, Jeffrey Woods has been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter and driving while under the influence. Any element of sympathy that the man had after he ended up causing the accident has now deservedly dissipated. You don't cause a crash that's not only strong enough to send a boy flying 100 feet, but which also leaves the front of your car smashed beyond recognition by driving sober, or by driving at the speed limit. Jeffrey has not only been utterly negligent, but even criminal in his actions. This was a man who was actually engaged in a criminal act when he caused the death of young boy. Lets hope that he ends up in a place where there is no chance to kill others while behind the wheel.

The other case that's seen developments in the last couple of days has to do with Marian Teri Kahale, the 19-year-old woman who was driving in the drunk driving accident that killed her best friend, Natasha Dannov. The accident occurred on November 18 last year, a few hours after Natasha's birthday. The two girls had celebrated Natasha's birthday at a party, where Kahale admitted she had taken the drug ecstasy. After that, she left for another party in Mission Viejo, where she consumed vodka. They then set off for home in an SUV with Kahale at the wheel. On the way, the car veered off the freeway and struck a guardrail, ejecting Natasha who was sleeping in the passenger seat without a seatbelt on. She died instantly in the drunk driving accident. Now Marion Kahale has pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter in the drunk driving accident.

Natasha's parents meanwhile, have other questions they want answered about the drunk driving accident that killed their daughter. Where, for instance, did the girls who were underage at the time of the drunk driving accident, get their hands on ecstasy and vodka? They have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the case of their daughter's death against Kahale. This is one drunk driving accident where you can't even cheer when the bad guy gets punished - Marion has effectively ruined her life too, and faces a minimum of four years in prison.

As we said at the beginning, if there's one thing to take home from these two cases, it's how drunk driving accidents have become more common among the young. Both accused are aged 20 or below, which makes it all the more important to ram the "don't drink and drive" message home harder than before.

If you have lost a loved one in a drunk driving accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


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.