Anti-addiction meds caused fatal Los Osos crash, attorney says

April 24, 2015

The 22-year-old man accused of using drugs prior to a 2014 crash that killed a Los Osos teen was actually under the influence of anti-addiction medication, his attorney claims.

Last June, Alexander Gonzales, 22, was driving in the wrong lane on South Bay Boulevard in Los Osos when he crashed head on into a vehicle driven by 18-year-old Jackson Garland. Emergency responders pronounced Garland dead at the scene.

Prosecutors allege Gonzales was under the influence of heroin and methamphetamine when the crash occurred. Gonzales admitted to taking heroin and methamphetamine about an hour before the crash, a CHP officer testified Thursday. A statement his attorney said was misconstrued as 4 p.m. when his client meant 4 a.m.

A prosecution document states that both heroin and methamphetamine were found in Gonzales’ blood test.

Four days following the crash, CalCoastNews published a statement submitted by defense attorney Darryl Genis. In the statement, Genis said he fully expected the toxicology report on his client’s blood to show that Gonzales was not under the influence of any alcohol or drugs.

But, Genis does says that his client is clearly an addict. At Thursday’s hearing, Genis said Gonzales passed out while driving home from a doctor’s office where he received the anti-addiction drug Vivitrol.

The Vivitrol injection caused Gonzalez to crash, Genis argued.

Genis also faults Los Osos doctor Kenneth Starr for administering the injection without drug testing Gonzales beforehand, according to a defense investigative report. Genis says Gonzales took drugs about 13 hours prior to the crash, and doctors are not supposed to administer the anti-addiction drug that soon after a patient uses the addictive substance.

Genis did say, though, that Gonzales should not have been driving at the time.