Driver accused of killing Long Beach family on Halloween charged with murder
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The man suspected of driving drunk on Halloween night and fatally striking a Long Beach couple and their three-year-old son with a large SUV is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. He is expected to be charged with three counts of murder and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Suspect charged with killing Long Beach family makes first court appearance
It was the crime which ripped a Long Beach community apart. A family was struck and killed on Halloween. Now the 20 year old Long Beach man charged in the case made his first court appearance.
Carlo Adrian Navarro, 20, is expected due in court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Long Beach.
Navarro is accused in the deaths of Joseph Awaida, 30, Raihan Dakhil Awaida, 32, and their son, Omar. They were struck around 9:55 p.m. Oct. 31 in the area of Country Club Drive and Los Cerritos Park Place.
Joseph Awaida died that night. Omar died Nov. 2, and his mother died the following day.
Related:
• Long Beach father, son die after being struck by alleged DUI driver on Halloween night
• Alleged DUI driver in fatal Long Beach crash back in custody on unrelated crime
According to Long Beach police, Navarro was driving a 2002 Toyota Sequoia southbound on Country Club Drive and failed to make a turn. Instead, he drove onto the sidewalk and hit the family as they were walking home after a night of trick-or-treating, authorities said.
Navarro was arrested at the scene but was later released on $100,000 bail. He was rearrested the following week on an unrelated burglary case.
He faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.
A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the Awaida family has raised more than $230,000. A candlelight vigil in support of the family was held last week at Los Cerritos Park in Long Beach.
FOX 11's Kelli Johnson contributed to this report.