Driver charged with murder

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A 22-year-old man was charged with three murder counts and drunken driving Friday in the crash that killed Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others.

Andrew Thomas Gallo ran a red light in his minivan early Thursday and broadsided a car carrying Adenhart and three friends, police said.

“At the time of the crash, Mr. Gallo’s blood-alcohol content is estimated to be almost three times the legal limit,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.

Gallo could receive almost 55 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges, Rackauckas said.

Gallo will likely be assigned a public defender at his first court appearance, scheduled for Monday.

Gallo also was charged with driving under the influence causing injury, and driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 percent causing injury with a sentencing enhancement that he personally inflicted great bodily injury. In addition, he was charged with fleeing the scene of a traffic accident causing death or injury.

Fullerton police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said homicide detectives interviewed Gallo for nearly four hours Thursday. “There was a lot to talk about,” Hamilton said, without disclosing details.

Police initially said Gallo lived in Riverside based on the address listed on his driver’s license. Gallo, however, gave police an address in San Gabriel when he was booked and officers were investigating that location Friday.

Henry Pearson of Manhattan Beach, a 25-year-old passenger in the car, and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Stewart of Diamond Bar, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another passenger, 24-year-old Jon Wilhite of Manhattan Beach, remained in critical but stable condition Friday and doctors believe he will survive, said John Murray, a spokesman for UC Irvine Medical Center. Wilhite was being medically sedated, Murray said.

According to court records reviewed by The Associated Press, Gallo pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 2006 in San Bernardino. He was sentenced to two days in jail, three years of probation, a $1,374 fine and a four-month alcohol treatment program, court records show. He didn’t serve any jail time, however, because he received credit for time served.

A judge also restricted his driving privileges for three months, allowing him to commute only to and from work and his treatment program.

The district attorney, however, said Gallo’s license had been suspended since 2006.