Man faces manslaughter charges after driving into utility pole; downed wire electrocuted 2 rescuers
A California man who crashed his car into a utility pole and a fire hydrant last year is now facing two felony manslaughter charges after would-be rescuers stepped into a pool of water electrified by a downed wire and were electrocuted.
“He was definitely driving negligently, he definitely had disregard for others,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Karen Nudell on Wednesday as she OK’d charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against Arman Samsonian, 19, reports the L.A. Now page of the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.). Six others at the scene were also shocked, but not fatally.
Attorney Andrew Flier represents Samsonian. He argued that the “intervening acts” that caused the deaths of Stacey Schreiber and Irma Zamora were not foreseeable and that those on the scene should have been aware of the danger posed by a downed power line near standing water.
