By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com
A 25-year-old man arrested over the weekend in connection with a vehicle accident that killed three young men and injured another was previously convicted of driving under the influence, had his driver's license suspended several times and then reinstated last week, according to records.
Sacramento Superior Court and Department of Motor Vehicle records show Omar Carrasco (top left photo) had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge in January 2008. His license was suspended in April 2007 for "excessive blood alcohol," which was the first of five suspensions that included the canceling of his insurance certificate and failure to appear for his violations.
On Thursday, two days before Saturday morning's fiery collision took the lives of three friends at Cosumnes River Boulevard and Center Parkway, Carrasco's license was reinstated.
Carrasco was arrested Saturday afternoon at Kaiser Permanente South Medical Center, where he had gone to seek treatment for his injuries. He was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and violating the terms of his probation.
A police spokesman said Monday evening the investigation is ongoing.
A sister of one of the men who died said Raoul Perez, 23, Manuel Ruiz, 25 and Gregory Valenzuela, 22, were coming home from a relative's house when the crash occurred.
Family and friends held a vigil Saturday night at the crash scene for the men.
Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.
Previous coverage:
Sacramento police arrest suspect in hit-and-run crash that kills 3 - March 7, 2010
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.