A 20-year-old driver who was charged in a suspected DUI crash that left two teenage brothers dead in Winnetka over the weekend has pleaded not guilty, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Pablo Roman Trujillo Carrasco of Glendale faces one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He entered the not guilty plea in court on Tuesday.
Trujillo Carrasco is suspected of being under the influence when his vehicle overturned after crashing into parked cars near the corner of Parthenia Street and Sunny Brae Avenue around 1 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The collision killed his passengers, 16-year-old Louis Perez and 19-year-old Cesar Perez, according to a news release from the DA’s office. The siblings were pronounced dead at the scene.
They were all headed home from a quinceañera at the time of the crash, police said.
Cesar Perez went to Pierce College and helped his mother raise his six siblings, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help raise money for the funerals. The page noted that Cesar paid for most of the family’s expenses.
Louis Perez was a student at Canoga Park High School, which his brother previously attended. Both teens were members of the Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley.
The defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of 11 years in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors. He’s due back in court next Wednesday.
