Inset: Edgar Verduzco (LAPD). Background: The scene after Verduzco caused a fiery car wreck that killed three family members (OnScene.TV/KABC).
A 34-year-old former police officer in California has admitted to driving over 150 mph while under the influence of alcohol, causing a car accident that left a mother, father, and their teenage son dead.
Edgar Verduzco, a onetime officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, on Friday formally pleaded guilty to three counts of murder in the 2017 deaths of Maribel Davila, Mario Davila, and 19-year-old Oscar Davila, authorities announced.
The collision occurred shortly after he posted a video on social media with the hashtag “dontdrinkanddrive.”
In addition to the murder charges, Verduzco also pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and one count of driving with a 0.08% blood alcohol content causing injury.
According to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the three-car crash took place on the night of Sept. 26, 2017. Verduzco was off duty when he drove his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro at 150 mph and struck two vehicles on the 605 Freeway. Verduzco first smashed into the Davila’s 2014 Nissan, which “hit a center divider and burst into flames,” killing all three family members.
The other vehicle involved in the crash was a 2010 Toyota Scion being driven by a mother, whose baby was in a rear car seat. The mother suffered only minor injuries, according to the DA’s office.
“As a police officer, Mr. Verduzco was aware that recklessly driving under the influence of alcohol at 150 miles per hour was extremely dangerous to human life and could result in the death of innocent victims, as it tragically did in this case,” District Attorney Hochman said in a statement following the plea hearing. “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. My support and sympathy go out to the Davila family’s loved ones, including Oscar’s four surviving siblings. I thank Deputy District Attorney Kaveh Faturechi of our office’s Justice System Integrity Division for vigorously seeking justice in this case.”
According to a report from City News Service, an officer with the California Highway Patrol in 2019 testified that he used data from Verduzco’s car to determine that he was actually traveling at 151 mph when he struck the Davila’s vehicle.
A driver who had been passed by Verduzco just before the collision reportedly testified that he remembered seeing the Camaro in his rearview mirror and thinking to himself that the car was moving at “a speed I’ve never seen before,” adding that he remembered thinking the driver was likely to kill himself or others.
Following the crash, authorities said Verduzco denied having consumed alcohol. However, a blood test performed at the hospital that evening registered his blood alcohol content to be 0.13, per CNS.
Another highway patrol officer reportedly testified that less than four hours before the crash, Verduzco posted a story to his Instagram account that included a cartoon figure in a car with the air bags deployed. The story was reportedly tagged “#dontdrinkanddrive.”
Verduzco is currently scheduled to appear in court again for his sentencing hearing on July 11, 2025. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in a state correctional facility for each of the murder charges, which could be imposed consecutively.
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