San Diego Criminal Attorneys Blog
Just after midnight on August 13th, 2010, another horrible DUI tragedy took the lives of three, and forever changed the life of a San Marcos mom. Over two years ago, Debbie Sumi, a mother of four, made the unfortunate life altering decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Earlier that evening, she was celebrating the joy of her fiance’s proposal and by morning, because of her reckless decision, her life took an unthinkable turn for the worse.
On Monday, 36 year old Sumi was convicted of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. According to prosecutors, Sumi was drunk driving when her car crashed on westbound State Route 78 near Sycamore Avenue.
According to CHP, the devastating chain of events that lead to this terrible tragedy began when the driver of a westbound 2008 Nissan Altima pulled over to the side of highway 78 because one of her passengers was feeling ill. After parking on the shoulder, three of the passengers got out of the car. Sadly, it wasn’t long before Debbie Sumi’s 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee veered off the highway and slammed into the Altima and two young women standing right next to it.