A driver killed in a July collision involving the wife of congressional candidate Abel Maldonado was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP spokesman Chuck Jones said toxicology reports on 32-year-old Joseph Scott Scheurn revealed “above a reportable amount” of the drug in Scheurn’s system. No other illegal drugs were present, Jones said.
Just after 4 p.m. on July 23, according to the CHP, Scheurn was driving north on Dominion Road near Santa Maria when he ran a stop sign at the intersection of Foxen Canyon Road. A Cadillac Escalade driven by 45-year-old Laura Maldonado struck Scheurn’s 1985 Honda Accord, and both vehicles ended up in an irrigation canal.
Emergency crews pronounced Scheurn dead at the scene. Laura Maldonado and the Maldonado’s son, Nicholas—a passenger in the car—sustained minor injuries. They underwent precautionary tests and were released from a local hospital. The CHP later determined Maldonado had been driving the speed limit.
In light of the new information, Jones said the CHP’s investigating officer would file a supplemental report to the incident, changing the primary collision factor from Scheurn running a stop sign to driving under the influence.
“He’s still going to be at fault for the crash so it doesn’t really change much other than that,” Jones said. “And there’s no prosecution because he passed away.”
This article appears in Sep 13-20, 2012.
