California courts do not tell DMV about deadly drivers


The California courts have failed to report hundreds of convictions on the murder of the State Department of Motor Vehicles over the last five years, allowing deadly drivers to retain their licenses incorrectly, a CalMatters investigation has been foundS

Drivers like Marvin Salazar.

Salazar was sentenced in May 2023 for killing vehicles after a crash that killed his friend, court records show. According to the California Act, this must be an automatic three -year loss of driving privileges.

But the High Court of Los Angeles did not announce the sentence before DMV. Two months later, the agency has issued Salazar the most recent license. Since then, he has received two speed tickets and is in another clash, records show.

  • Gaudy lemusWhose son, 18-year-old Joseph Ramirez, died in the crash: “How can he continue to drive? We wanted consequences for him. Remove his driver’s license.”

Investigative reporters Lauren Hepler and Robert Lewis It reveals the mistake and others like it by crossing sentences in cases of car killing against DMV recording of motorists as part of a continuing investigation. Earlier this year, Calmatters reports The fact that the agency routinely allows people with a terrifying history of dangerous driving – including fatal catastrophes, Dui and numerous tickets – to continue driving.

When the courts were reported to the problem, employees in most district court systems responded quickly, thanked Calmatters reporters for telling them, admitted the mistake and indicated that they would report DMV’s sentences.

  • Tara lialThe CEO of the Court of County Kern: “They were mistakes on our part. They won’t sugar.”

Reporting is already forcing a change. So far, nearly 200 drivers who have killed have downloaded their driving privileges or canceled as a result of Calmatters history, DMV reports show. While some have already had a separate license suspension, 70 seemed to have had a valid license before the agency took action in response to the story.

Read more hereS

And if you are not yet, be sure to read the first installment of the series, Murder licenseS

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