A young man accused of driving under the influence, speeding and running a red light was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on murder and other charges for allegedly causing a crash in Northridge that killed an off-duty Los Angeles police officer and a man preparing to join the LAPD academy.
Superior Court Judge Efrain M. Aceves rejected the defense’s motion to dismiss the two murder counts against Brian David Olivarez, who was 20 at the time of the Nov. 4, 2023, crash and is now 21.
Olivarez is also charged with two counts each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence in connection with the crash that killed off-duty Officer Darrell Cunningham and one of Cunningham’s passengers, Jorge Soriano, and injured two other people.
Los Angeles police Officer Alexander Martinez testified that he had warned Olivarez about the dangers of speeding and running a red light and told him that he could be charged if he killed someone after seeing him go through a red light about six months before the fatal crash at the same intersection at Roscoe Boulevard and Lindley Avenue.
“He nodded his head in agreement,” the officer said, noting that he cited the young man for two violations, including having no driver’s license, after having to drive 60 mph to catch up with the young man.
Another LAPD officer, Jeffrey Ngo, said he concluded that Olivarez — who was unconscious after the crash in November — was under the influence of alcohol, and said testing was subsequently done for confirmation.
Attorneys stipulated that blood-alcohol testing performed on Olivarez showed a 0.067 level just over four hours after the crash. He noted that he believed the legal limit is 0.01 for anyone under 21 as Olivarez was at the time of the crash.
Investigators believe the 2008 BMW 328i being driven westbound on Roscoe Boulevard by Olivarez was traveling between a low of 80 mph and a high of 97 mph on a street with a 40 mph speed limit, according to LAPD Officer Brandon Jeon, who has spent more than 13 years investigating traffic collisions.
Edgar Martinez, an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy who was a passenger in the Infiniti being driven by Cunningham, said he didn’t remember the collision, but recalled opening his eyes and noticing emergency lights. He said he heard firefighters using the Jaws of Life to cut open the vehicle.
“I remember they put a sheet over my friend Darrell’s head,” Martinez said.
He said Soriano was sitting in front of him and was “slumped over unresponsive.”
When asked about his two friends, he said, “They passed away in the vehicle collision.”
Martinez testified that he suffered 11 injuries, including a broken right femur and a small skull fracture, that required three surgeries and resulted in him being hospitalized for a little over a month and undergoing home care and physical therapy after he was discharged from the hospital.
Angela Lujan, who was dating Olivarez and was a passenger in his vehicle at the time of the crash, said she didn’t remember anything about it.
“I just remember realizing that we were in an accident,” she testified, noting later that she had about six surgeries while hospitalized for about two weeks but did not suffer any permanent injuries.
Olivarez faces a potential life prison sentence if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Shortly after the crash, Cunningham’s mother called what happened “very senseless,” noting that it happened at about 1:15 a.m. when there was no traffic.
“What’s the rush? … 1:15 in the morning,” she said.
Soriano’s godmother said hundreds of people have been impacted by one person’s bad decision.