LOS ANGELES, CA — A former Los Angeles Police Department officer who posted “#dontdrinkanddrive” on social media shortly before a deadly DUI crash has pleaded guilty to murdering three members of the same family in a high-speed freeway collision.
Edgar Verduzco, 34, of Santa Ana, entered a guilty plea Monday to three counts of murder and two DUI-related charges for a 2017 crash that killed a mother, father and their 19-year-old son on the 605 Freeway. Verduzco was off duty and driving under the influence when he slammed into two vehicles at 150 miles per hour, causing one car to hit the center divider and explode in flames.
Key Points
- Former LAPD officer Edgar Verduzco pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in a 2017 DUI crash.
- The victims were Maribel Davila, Mario Davila, and their 19-year-old son Oscar, a UC Riverside student.
- Verduzco faces three concurrent sentences of 15 years to life in prison.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said Verduzco, as a police officer, knew the life-threatening risks of driving intoxicated. “Oscar Davila, a beloved student at UC Riverside, was just 19 years old, and his life and his parents’ lives were senselessly taken in an instant,” Hochman said in a statement.
The crash occurred on Sept. 26, 2017, when Verduzco, while intoxicated, crashed into two vehicles on the southbound 605 Freeway. The impact sent the Davila family’s vehicle into a divider, igniting a fire that killed all three occupants. The second vehicle, carrying a mother and her baby, sustained only minor injuries.
Verduzco was charged in case BA467321 and admitted to three counts of murder, one count of DUI causing injury, and one count of driving with a blood alcohol content above 0.08% causing injury. The plea follows years of court proceedings led by the DA’s Justice System Integrity Division.
Sentencing set for July
Sentencing is scheduled for July 11 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. Verduzco faces three concurrent terms of 15 years to life for murder and an additional three-year term for DUI injury, also to be served concurrently.
The case drew national attention for the irony of Verduzco’s social media post warning against drunk driving shortly before the crash. Authorities said his video was posted just hours before the triple-fatal wreck.
Verduzco is no longer employed by the LAPD.