LANCASTER – A 29-year-old man accused of crashing his car on the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway while drunk last month, resulting in the death of his passenger, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Elder Higueros entered the not guilty plea Wednesday in an Antelope Valley courtroom, where he was arraigned on charges of murder and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The charges stem from a Feb. 16 crash that claimed the life of 29-year-old Joseph Ralph Contreraz.
Higueros was speeding northbound on the 14 Freeway, just south of Avenue N, when his 2007 Toyota drifted off the left side of the roadway onto the dirt median, causing Higueros to lose control, according to a California Highway Patrol report.
The vehicle traveled back across the roadway, plowed through a guardrail, and then traveled up a dirt embankment before flipping onto its side, the CHP report states.
Contreraz, a passenger in the vehicle, was thrown onto the roadway and pronounced dead at the scene.
Higueros was arrested shortly after the collision and has been jailed on $1 million bail since the crash. After entering a not guilty plea Wednesday, Higueros was ordered back to custody with bail to remain at $1 million. He is due back in court on Thursday, April 11, for a preliminary hearing.
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danny says
If the passenger is found to have been drunk too its his fault for being there. He had no better sense than to get in the car with a drunk driver. If the driver would have hit an innocent bystander and killed them, thats a different story. That passenger could be no less innocent of DUI and that driver if he is found to have been drunk.
SS says
If you don’t know the details to the story than u s houldn’t say anything no matter what the driver is responsible!! No matter what th situation is a life was lost over drunk driving!! My heart will b forever broken! I lost my other half that nite!
Daniel says
I am commenting on the story above and the details reported here. You have no right to say that I cannot say anything. This is a comments section.
abe says
[removed] all u guys hating he wasnt drunk he fell asleep on tge wheel
gonetoosoon says
After reading the above story, how can a person plead “not guilty”??
It was his car, he was driving, he was driving while intoxicated. He crashed his car. Contreraz was killed. If Contreraz was not in Higueros car,if Higueros wasn’t driving while intoxicated, if Higueros didn’t crash the car then Contreraz would not have been killed…guilty, guilty, guilty.
If the story is true, I hope Higueros is found guilty and pays the price.
My prayers are with the friends and family of Mr.Contreraz.
Martha says
God bless the family and friends of the man who died and shame on the driver. You decided to fly high after drinking and it resulted in the loss of human life. Now it’s time to pay the price.