Crime & Safety

Teen Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Ortega Highway Crash

Lake Elsinore resident Francisco Jesus Ochoa, 19, is accused of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

The Lake Elsinore teen accused of being under the influence of drugs when he  pleaded not guilty today to a manslaughter charge.

During his arraignment in Orange County Superior Court Friday, Francisco Jesus Ochoa, 19, pleaded not guilty to one felony count each of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance, one misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle without a valid license, and an infraction for failing to maintain liability insurance.

If convicted, Ochoa faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and eight months in state prison.

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On the morning of Nov. 18, Ochoa crashed the Ford F-150 truck he was driving as he headed westbound on Ortega Highway. The crash was reported at about 6:45 a.m., near the Mile 6 marker on the Orange County side of the mountainous highway.

Prosecutors allege Ochoa swerved and weaved across the two-lane highway for several miles, crossing back and forth onto the wrong side of the road and onto the dirt shoulders on either side, before smashing into a tree.

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The crash killed Ochoa's 45-year-old passenger Margarita Gutierrez, also of Lake Elsinore.

Gutierrez was crushed in her seat and pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.

 He did not have a prescription for the Vicodin, prosecutors allege.

Ochoa, a housekeeper by profession according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s inmate information system, suffered a broken leg in the crash and was transported to a local hospital before being booked into the Central Men's Jail in Orange County.

Ochoa is due back in court Jan. 20 for a pre-trial hearing. He is in custody on $100,000 bail. 

–Jenna Chandler contributed to this report.


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