LONG BEACH - A 30-year-old Los Angeles man pleaded no contest Wednesday to a charge that he killed a 61-year-old rabbi while driving drunk two years ago.
Willie Norton Jr., 30, entered his plea - considered the same as a guilty plea in criminal court - as jury selection was slated to begin in his trial Wednesday, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Hans Kohnlein.
After entering his plea Norton was promptly sentenced to 17 years in prison, said Kohnlein, who is in charge of the Accident Investigations Detail.
The victim, Gilbert Shaffer, was visiting from Brooklyn, New York, on March 7, 2007, when the fatal crash occurred.
The car Shaffer was driving - a white 2007 Saturn Ion - was hit by Norton's gold 1990 Cadillac Fleetwood and Shaffer was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said then that Norton's Cadillac spun out of control after he was hit by a Los Angeles Metro bus near Pacific Coast Highway and Long Beach Boulevard.
Investigators said Norton appeared to be drunk and the cause of the crash. He was eventually arrested and charged with the rabbi's death in October of 2007.
Relatives of Shaffer said the rabbi - who lived in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York - was in Long Beach on a business trip at the time of his death.
The driver of the Metro bus, a 24-year-old Whittier man, was never charged in the fatal crash.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Families of drunk driving victims giving back in MADD fundraiser
Hank Alvarez has learned to cope with the pain of losing a child since his son was killed in an accident caused by a drunken driver more than seven years ago.
Steven Alvarez, a 20-year-old wrestling coach at West High School, was driving along Western Avenue in April 2003 when he was broadsided by Ricardo Pena, 22.
Steven Alvarez was taken off life support the next day, while authorities said that Pena's blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit.
"The hardest thing about losing someone is learning how to live with the pain," said Alvarez, a longtime Torrance resident. "You move on, but it's still not easy."
Through the most difficult times, Alvarez relied on support from families who had experienced similar losses.
Now he's giving back by participating in Saturday's "Walk Like MADD" fundraiser in Long Beach, sponsored by the Los Angeles-Ventura chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The event will start at 9 a.m. at the Queen Mary Events Park, 1126 Queens Highway.
Alvarez has participated in the charity event for the last six years to honor his son's memory. His team, "Alvy 59," has already raised nearly $900.
"I can still picture how it happened, when the officers told me he got hit," he said. "To this day, I can picture it in my mind."
Several other South Bay families, including Palos Verdes Estates resident Marlene Young, also are participating in the event.
Young organized a team in memory of her daughter, Whitney Young, who died in a drunken driving accident in January 2006.
In her third year walking, Young has put an extra emphasis on finding children and teenagers to participate for her daughter's team, "Whitney's All Stars."
"That's what we want, young people talking to young people to create positive peer pressure against drunk driving," she said.
Young has channeled her pain by volunteering for MADD. To her, every person educated is a person saved. She has also enlisted the support of the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, which signed up a team of virtual walkers to raise funds.
"My reason for doing it every year is just to try to impact one person," she said. "Someone could be spared the tragedy that we've had to experience."
MADD's goal for the walk is to raise $800,000 to help local volunteers who organize community support groups and preventative programs to combat drunken driving.
Statistics show that 41 percent of fatal crashes are alcohol related.
Cheryl Matasso, a Harbor City resident who will walk Saturday, volunteers for MADD by speaking to the community about ways to prevent these accidents.
Source
Steven Alvarez, a 20-year-old wrestling coach at West High School, was driving along Western Avenue in April 2003 when he was broadsided by Ricardo Pena, 22.
Steven Alvarez was taken off life support the next day, while authorities said that Pena's blood-alcohol level was over the legal limit.
"The hardest thing about losing someone is learning how to live with the pain," said Alvarez, a longtime Torrance resident. "You move on, but it's still not easy."
Through the most difficult times, Alvarez relied on support from families who had experienced similar losses.
Now he's giving back by participating in Saturday's "Walk Like MADD" fundraiser in Long Beach, sponsored by the Los Angeles-Ventura chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The event will start at 9 a.m. at the Queen Mary Events Park, 1126 Queens Highway.
Alvarez has participated in the charity event for the last six years to honor his son's memory. His team, "Alvy 59," has already raised nearly $900.
"I can still picture how it happened, when the officers told me he got hit," he said. "To this day, I can picture it in my mind."
Several other South Bay families, including Palos Verdes Estates resident Marlene Young, also are participating in the event.
Young organized a team in memory of her daughter, Whitney Young, who died in a drunken driving accident in January 2006.
In her third year walking, Young has put an extra emphasis on finding children and teenagers to participate for her daughter's team, "Whitney's All Stars."
"That's what we want, young people talking to young people to create positive peer pressure against drunk driving," she said.
Young has channeled her pain by volunteering for MADD. To her, every person educated is a person saved. She has also enlisted the support of the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, which signed up a team of virtual walkers to raise funds.
"My reason for doing it every year is just to try to impact one person," she said. "Someone could be spared the tragedy that we've had to experience."
MADD's goal for the walk is to raise $800,000 to help local volunteers who organize community support groups and preventative programs to combat drunken driving.
Statistics show that 41 percent of fatal crashes are alcohol related.
Cheryl Matasso, a Harbor City resident who will walk Saturday, volunteers for MADD by speaking to the community about ways to prevent these accidents.
Source
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