DUI Wreck

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A felon who killed a 44-year-old motorist on Interstate 15 in Corona while driving drunk was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison.

Jorge Anival Gomez Agustin, 31, last month admitted a second-degree murder charge under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. No charges were dropped.

During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Friday, Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

Agustin killed Tommy Chu of Corona on northbound I-15 at Weirick Road.

According to the California Highway Patrol, about 3 a.m. on Feb. 12, 2022, the defendant was driving his Mercedes Benz E-350 at an unknown speed when he struck the rear of Chu’s northbound Honda CRV that was just ahead of him.

“After the initial impact, both vehicles went off of the freeway, down an embankment and across the (Weirick) off-ramp lanes,” CHP Officer Juan Quintero said at the time, adding that the vehicles came to rest near the exit ramp.

Chu was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later by Corona Fire Department paramedics. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

Agustin was not injured and was given a field sobriety test by CHP officers, who determined that he was inebriated, Quintero said.

The defendant was taken into custody without incident.

According to court records, he had a prior conviction for importation and possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

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