VISTA (CNS/CBS8) - A Temecula man accused of driving drunk and crashing his pickup truck into an Escondido home, leaving a man seriously injured, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony DUI charges.
Brandon David Morris, 23, faces up to four years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Laurie Hauf.
Morris is charged with DUI causing injury and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher. The defendant, who has a DUI conviction from March of last year, also faces multiple victim and great bodily injury allegations.
Vista Superior Court Marshall Hockett ordered Morris held on $402,500 bail.
The defendant was driving eastbound on Country Club Lane about 7:30 p.m. last Thursday when his truck struck a curb, ran over an electrical transformer and crashed through the back patio of the home, which sits on Eveningside Glen, Albergo said.
A 14-year-old girl inside the home suffered minor injuries, but her 44-year-old stepfather, Tony Vidaurri, was outside and was pinned under the pickup, said Escondido police Lt. Tom Albergo.
Firefighters extricated the injured man from the wreckage and transported him to a hospital with a broken leg, concussion and serious facial injuries. Two other family members inside the condo were not injured.
Vidaurri's wife Lisa was in court for Morris' arraignment. She told News 8 she was outraged when she learned this wasn't the first time Morris has been charged with DUI. She said, "I don't hold people's mistakes against them. Everybody makes mistakes, but it's what you do when you learn from those mistakes and you move forward, and you learn and do not do it again. He knew, he got more than drunk, got beyond drunk, and why?"
Morris' defense attorney, Michael Littman, said Morris is remorseful. Littman said, "He's extremely remorseful. He feels horible about what happened. He would like to do what he can to help the victims out, whether it be give them noney or do anything he could possibly do."
Morris will be back in court March 14 for a readiness conference and April 3 for a preliminary hearing.
