Seaside man sentenced for drunken-driving crash
Published 9:45 am Tuesday, November 24, 2020
A Seaside man was sentenced last Friday to 150 days in jail and four years probation for a drunken-driving crash that left a man seriously injured.
Erick Yetzael Mendez Lopez, 23, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants, assault in the fourth degree, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and two counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver with property damage.
Justin Powell, of Seaside, was walking across 12th Avenue and N. Holladay Drive in December when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Mendez Lopez.
Powell suffered numerous fractures, a laceration, a concussion and other injuries that have required surgeries.As part of his probation, Judge Deanne Darling required Mendez Lopez to present on his experience at a local high school on an annual basis.
Powell filed a lawsuit in May seeking more than $1.1 million for negligence.
The lawsuit also accuses Naked Wines in Oregon and Damarkom, doing business as Times Theater and Public House, of negligence for allegedly serving Mendez Lopez alcohol prior to the crash while he was visibly intoxicated.