Driver won’t be charged with manslaughter

Greg Risling

A Costa Mesa driver arrested last week for running away from a traffic

accident in Fountain Valley that killed three people will not face

vehicular manslaughter charges, authorities said Tuesday.

Police believe 42-year-old Agustin Gonzalez Galindo wasn’t responsible

for the accident, based on accounts from witnesses.

“He [Galindo] wasn’t at fault, according to the only person who saw what

happened,” said Fountain Valley police Lt. Dann Bean. “It looks like the

other driver may have run a red light that may have caused the accident.”

The impact of the crash, which occurred about 10:40 p.m. at the

intersection of Newhope Street and Warner Avenue, killed the driver of a

Ford Mustang, 24-year-old Nestor Ramirez Suastegui of Huntington Beach.

Two of his passengers, 28-year-old Maria Reyna Cano and her 5-month-old

boy, Brian Muyorido, also died. Two other passengers were injured.

The witness isn’t related to either party, authorities said. In order to

file manslaughter charges, prosecutors must determine from independent

evidence that Galindo caused the accident.

“From what we know, that wasn’t the case in this accident,” Bean added.

Galindo still faces charges for felony hit-and-run, driving under the

influence and driving on a suspended license.

Police said Galindo was driving his pickup truck southbound on Newhope

when Suastegui was headed eastbound on Warner. The force of the impact

was so extreme that the youngest victim, who was strapped into a

child-safety seat, was ejected from the Mustang.

Galindo was found by police a short time later, hiding in some bushes

blocks away from where the accident occurred.

Authorities said tests determining the blood-alcohol levels of the

suspect and Suastegui haven’t been released.