One killed, two injured in Claremont car crash

[duh]

The Lord can find him in prison.

friend wrote:

I agree he needs help, not dying in prison. knowing what he has caused will be a daily struggle, but his children need him and the Lord can change him if he really wants it.

[Missing Sweet Toni]

I'm trying to understand those that come to the defense of Chavez, but it just doesn't make sense. If he were a good man and good father, he would have never made a "mistake" more than once. Call it a mistake or accident when one learns and choses never to behave in the same manner. He chose to get behind the wheel time and time again under the influence. This man wasn't thinking about his family when he was making selfish and irresponsible choices! We are all accountable for our actions. Many of us have had a tough life, but we don't make excuses. I lost a friend. The most caring, genuine, giving person I knew. Toni could brighten everyones' spirit with a smile. Her daughter lost a mother. WIthout exaggeration, to say Toni was a wonderful mother is an understatement. Her daughter, her family, were her LIFE. Chavez took the lives of two extraordinary women. There is NO excuse. Please do not come to his defense. I never knew him personally, but that does not change the facts. He murdered two people who will be missed beyond imagination. He murdered two people who loved to LOVE. He murdered two people who would give their life for the ones they love. After the "accident" or "mistake" as some call it, he ran off trying to escape. Then he has the nerve to plead innocent. Those are not the actions of a remorseful person. He should live his whole life behind bars and think about the lives he destroyed by his careless, irresponsible, and horrific actions. I hope he never forgets the day he took two lives and destroyed so many others!! THERE IS NO EXCUSE!!!

[ARE YOU SERIOUS]

ALL THOSE THAT DEFEND THIS GUY OBVIOUSLY HAVE NOT HAD A LOVED ONE MURDERED BY A DRUNK DRIVER!! ALL OF YOU STOP, TAKE A MOMENT, AND THINK...WHAT IF IT WAS YOUR MOTHER KILLED BY HIM. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU WOULD NOT BE AS QUICK TO EXCUSE THIS MONSTER!

[FONTANA]

WHAT THE HELL ARE THE FRIENDS OF THIS GUY THINKING. HE GOT IN THE SEAT NOW LET HIM TAKE THE HEAT. THIS SO CALLED GOOD MAN YOU WRITE ABOUT STOOD AROUND HIS CAR AFTER THE ACCIDENT FOR 15 MINUTES INSTEAD OF HELPING TO LOOK FOR TONI WHEN SHE WAS EJECTED FROM THE TRUCK MAYBE HE WAS SAVING HIS ENERGY TO RUN. I CAN STILL HEAR THE LITTLE GIRL ASK TO HELP HER MOM AS SHE WAS TRYING TO PUT ON HER SANDALS, THE TRUCK HORN STILL GOING. I DIDN'T SEE HIM SHOW ANY KIND OF REMORSE WHEN CPR WAS BEING DONE ON TONI OR HEARING THE LITTLE GIRL SITTING ON THE BED OF THE TRUCK SAYING "PLEASE HELP MY MOM". THAT PUNK JUST STOOD THERE THINKING HOW THE HELL HE WAS GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS ONE.. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN... TO THE WEBB FAMILY AM SORRY FOR YOUR LOST.. TO THE FRIENDS OF THIS PUNK START SAVING YOUR MONEY CAUSE AS SOON AS THIS PUNK HITS THE PRISON SYSTEM THE ONLY TIME YOUR GOING TO HEAR FOR THIS PUNK IS WHEN HE NEEDS A PACKAGE IN PRISON..

[you have some nerve]

This one mistake, as you call it, killed a mother and grandmother in front of their families' eyes. You still don't think he deserves to LIVE (two others are not alive on account of this person) behind bars because of one mistake??? Seriously, how would you feel if it was your mother killed by your so called friend? Would you still believe it to be one little mistake that doesn't deserve consequences? He doesn't deserve to be put in jail for killing two women? You are certainly out of your mind. I guess I could expect that stupidity when your a person who would call Chavez a friend.

west covina wrote:

steven is a friend of mind that i grew up with as a kid..i have knowed him my whole life. he's not a killer. he has two kids of his owned,and has made one of the biggest mistakes of his life by this "ACCIDENT." but tell me this. its ok for a PRO football player to drink and drive and kill a couple of people in an accident and serve 28 days in jail and to be put on house arriest for 2 years because he was a role model for kids. and then they pay off the victims family cause they have the money to do that.. so how can you want a young person like steven be but behind bars for the rest of his life.. hes a young man with 2 little boys. he knows what he did and to the webb family i'm truly sorry for your lost. but why put a kid behind bars for the rest of his life to make your selves feel better.. why make his kids grow up without a dad. dont put a good man down for one mistake.
<quoted text>

[Tragedy]

I too knew Steven growing up. I also attended the same high school as he did. I witnessed first hand the change from a smart athletic young man he was to a trouble confused kid he became after the death of his father. Its really too bad it had to come to this but he made his bed. Time to sleep in it. At the very least I hope we can all pray for him as I'm sure he will spend most of his natural life in prison. I just fear that his two boys will grow up with the same chip on their shoulder after losing their father as Steven did. To the Webb family u have my sympathy and condolences

[S Webb]

Tragedy wrote:

I too knew Steven growing up. I also attended the same high school as he did. I witnessed first hand the change from a smart athletic young man he was to a trouble confused kid he became after the death of his father. Its really too bad it had to come to this but he made his bed. Time to sleep in it. At the very least I hope we can all pray for him as I'm sure he will spend most of his natural life in prison. I just fear that his two boys will grow up with the same chip on their shoulder after losing their father as Steven did. To the Webb family u have my sympathy and condolences

Thank you! I wish someone could have reached out to him before this. We lost our father at a young age. I pray Steven's mother and children every day. Maybe one day I can pray for Steven also, I'm just not there yet.

[OMG]

This is so rediculous that anyone could defend this repeat affender. For those of you who think he should not go to jail for these CRIMES, put yourself in the shoes of the victims!! If he killed your mother or grandmother you would be ready to lock him up and throw away the key. your concern for his children?? What about the motherless 12 year old?? she cant even go visit her mother in jail like his children can so stop with making him the victim here. He was wrong and should be punished according to the law!!

[Consider]

friend wrote:

I agree he needs help, not dying in prison. knowing what he has caused will be a daily struggle, but his children need him and the Lord can change him if he really wants it.

At what point do you draw the line in any situation and say, "Honestly, they are really a good person and it was a mistake. Let them be free for their children".

Would you be defending your friend if he had no children? It sounds to me like these children are scapegoats for lenient sentencing. What if your mother or father had been killed in that accident - would you still pat him on the back and console him saying, "Don't worry about it buddy you're a good guy"? And what if he wasn't your friend at all? There is always someone who "knows" the guy and these great childhood experiences change your perspective. Let's hear you say the same thing about a stranger you know nothing about with a triple-DUI record at the age of 23.

[ie-friend]

Ok, all of you people out there, I dont really agree that he should be put away for LIFE. I think that this is a mistake and a poor judgement call on his part. I truly belive that this should be considered and ACCIDENT. And how do you know that the test results of his alcohol level may be under the law of 0.8? We dont know that yet. So, yes I am very, very sorry for the loss of the Whittier family, and my prayers go out to them. But he has 2 small children that still need their father, these children deserve to know their father.And they have already suffered the loss of their own family with his dad. So, yes I am sorry but I beleieve he deserves a second chance and God will take care of the rest.

[S Webb]

ie-friend wrote:

Ok, all of you people out there, I dont really agree that he should be put away for LIFE. I think that this is a mistake and a poor judgement call on his part. I truly belive that this should be considered and ACCIDENT. And how do you know that the test results of his alcohol level may be under the law of 0.8? We dont know that yet. So, yes I am very, very sorry for the loss of the Whittier family, and my prayers go out to them. But he has 2 small children that still need their father, these children deserve to know their father.And they have already suffered the loss of their own family with his dad. So, yes I am sorry but I beleieve he deserves a second chance and God will take care of the rest.

You must be a really good freind to think so off the wall. Steven has been convicted twice alread for drunk driving. If this guy gets out he will just go kill someone else's mother, or daughter or son. He didn't learn the first time. Do you really think my mother would be dead if he would not have run from the police when he was pulled over the first time that evening? I hope he never gets out. Those kids are better off without him. After he killed my mother he ran off into the desert to avoid the police for a second time that same night. Drunk Driving penalties need to be much worse than they are now. If he would have been in jail after the first two convictions. I'd still have a mom and my 12 year old neice and her brother and sister would still have a mom. My family is a mess over this. We can't get past it until we know he can't do this again to someone else. He's already proven he doesn't learn from his mistakes.

[S Webb]

S Webb wrote:

<quoted text> You must be a really good freind to think so off the wall. Steven has been convicted twice alread for drunk driving. If this guy gets out he will just go kill someone else's mother, or daughter or son. He didn't learn the first time. Do you really think my mother would be dead if he would not have run from the police when he was pulled over the first time that evening? I hope he never gets out. Those kids are better off without him. After he killed my mother he ran off into the desert to avoid the police for a second time that same night. Drunk Driving penalties need to be much worse than they are now. If he would have been in jail after the first two convictions. I'd still have a mom and my 12 year old neice and her brother and sister would still have a mom. My family is a mess over this. We can't get past it until we know he can't do this again to someone else. He's already proven he doesn't learn from his mistakes.

One more thing. You keep saying a second chance like he's never done anything before. This is his third that we know of. Who knows how many times he did not get caught.

[Consider]

ie-friend wrote:

Ok, all of you people out there, I dont really agree that he should be put away for LIFE. I think that this is a mistake and a poor judgement call on his part. I truly belive that this should be considered and ACCIDENT. And how do you know that the test results of his alcohol level may be under the law of 0.8? We dont know that yet. So, yes I am very, very sorry for the loss of the Whittier family, and my prayers go out to them. But he has 2 small children that still need their father, these children deserve to know their father.And they have already suffered the loss of their own family with his dad. So, yes I am sorry but I beleieve he deserves a second chance and God will take care of the rest.

OK, so you think he shouldn't get put away for life - still using the children as a reason for his need to be free in society instead of locked up. Even if it is considered an "accident" under whatever terms you consider that to be, he will still serve time in jail.

I think this is what he falls under:

PC 191.5
Vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, with gross negligence.

Penalty: Up to 1 year county jail, or 4, 6 or 10 years state prison. Note: With one or more priors of this or certain other vehicular felonies, 15 years to life in state prison ("Courtney's Law").

Here is some info about Courtney's Law:
The law imposes prison sentences of 15 years to life for motorists convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter who have two or more previous convictions for drunk driving or one prior conviction for vehicular manslaughter or a similar charge.

"A drunken driver is more than an accident waiting to happen. You're a loaded weapon," Wilson said. "We are sending a message to California motorists, one we hope will scare them sober."

* This person has at least two previous convictions for drunk driving, meeting the "three strikes" criteria.
* His gross negligence has been demonstrated by previous violations and him fleeing the scene, at the least.

If we make exceptions to individuals who have dependent children, spouses, etc.(whether financially, emotionally or otherwise), we provide a loophole to our own law and values that we implemented primarily to protect these dependent children and loved ones. The law is intended to be objective, not subjective - if we counted every good deed, every child, mother, significant other and each beneficial impact a violator has been involved in, we are instead looking at what is being taken away from THEM, instead of what is being taken away from the victims and the PUBLIC - the ENTIRE PURPOSE of having laws, to protect YOU and everyone else from harm.

[Observer]

Can someone inform me of what happened at trial for this case?

[Whittier friend]

Observer wrote:

Can someone inform me of what happened at trial for this case?

Me too! Last I heard, he was supposed to go back to court in September. I haven't heard anything since then.