An LAPD sergeant is facing several felony charges following a DUI incident that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old pedestrian in Tustin, as reported by FOX 11. The officer, identified as Carlos Gonzalo Coronel of Buena Park, has been charged with felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run that led to the death of Imanol Salvador Gonzalez. Orange County District Attorney's Office detailed that Coronel, after consuming alcohol, collided with the victim early in the morning on Feb. 1 near the intersection of Nisson Road and Del Amo Avenue and failed to render aid or report the collision.
Orange County officials allege Coronel was returning to his girlfriend's house when the crash occurred, and rather than stop, he proceeded home and later instructed his girlfriend to avoid the crash scene as they drove back, just before they found Gonzalez's lifeless body in the street arriving from work Coronel searched online about whether a hit-and-run was reported in Tustin suggesting consciousness of guilt, as per the reports from KTLA. The district attorney, Todd Spitzer, condemned the sergeant's actions stating, "It is unconscionable that an officer who swore an oath to protect and serve would leave a man to die in the street after hitting him while driving under the influence of alcohol," which is a sentiment echoed in the coverage by Orange County DA's Office.
Coronel's vehicle, a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup, sustained significant front-end damage, yet the sergeant did not alert authorities or request medical aid for the victim; instead, prosecutors claim he later drove by the crime scene without identifying himself as being involved in the incident. The community is left grappling with the harrowing notion that an officer assigned to shield civilians would instead desert a dying youth, alone amid the street's darkness; this event has stirred a conversation around accountability and the sometimes tragic divergence between the principles and practices of law enforcement.
Anticipated to appear in court for his arraignment on June 27, Coronel may face up to six years and eight months in state prison if convicted of all charges, signaling a fall from grace for the once-trusted sergeant and endowing a sobering chapter in the annals of law enforcement whose oath is to serve but in this stark instance may have prioritized self over service. The upcoming trial will surely unfold in the searing light of public scrutiny, piercing through layers of uniform to reveal the inescapable truth of a man, a badge, and a life taken too soon as Gonzalez's family inevitably quests for justice in the silhouette of their loss.
