California bill aims to let families change "accident" label on DUI-related death certificates

When a DUI operator causes a clang that kills someone, successful astir cases, it's a crime. But that's not what it says connected the decease certificate.

Families of victims killed successful DUI-related crashes are pushing to alteration that, arguing the word "accident" fails to bespeak the world of what happened.

Kellie and Eddie Montalvo ne'er got the accidental to accidental goodbye to their 21-year-old son, Benjamin, who was killed successful June 2020. Prosecutors accidental a pistillate who was driving drunk and high, and texting, struck Benjamin portion helium was riding his motorcycle with friends.

She past near Benjamin Montalvo to dice connected the asphalt.

"This was Neomi Velado's 4th hit-and-run. She was successful postulation schoolhouse erstwhile she killed Benjamin," Kellie Montalvo said. "The adjacent morning, she replaced her windshield and went connected to enactment an full shift."  

Velado turned herself successful the adjacent nighttime and was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. But contempt that conviction, Benjamin Montalvo's decease certificate lists his mode of decease arsenic an "accident."

"The choices that were made and the choices that were not made marque it perfectly not an accident," Kellie Montalvo said. "So I privation Benjamin's decease certificate changed."

The Montalvos are portion of a increasing effort known arsenic the "Not an Accident" campaign, which is backing a California authorities Senate measure that would let families to petition an amended decease certificate aft idiosyncratic is convicted of sidesplitting their loved one.

Supporters accidental the alteration is astir much than affectional closure. Matt Capelouto, whose girl Alexandra died aft taking a pill laced with fentanyl, said close classifications could power nationalist policy.

"I deliberation the astir important thing... it volition make close captious statistics," Capelouto said. "And it's our captious statistic that laic the groundwork for argumentation and backing that yet volition assistance successful combating these preventable deaths."

Alexandra's lawsuit was the catalyst for "Alexandra's Law," which allows prosecutors to complaint definite cause dealers with homicide. Now, Caoelouto is joining the combat for the close to alteration a loved one's decease certificate to bespeak the ineligible origin of death.

"It's a slap successful the look to look astatine her decease certificate and person it categorized arsenic an accident," helium said.

However, the connection is facing pushback from aesculapian examiners. The president of the National Association of Medical Examiners said the measure "conflates ineligible determinations with aesculapian determinations" and "could trigger the judicial strategy to property charges successful a imaginable crime."

Except that the measure lone "authorizes a household member" to petition "a caller decease certificate" aft a tribunal has already ruled. In fact, the measure doesn't adjacent notation the aesculapian examiner. It simply authorizes the authorities registrar to "issue a caller decease certificate" based connected the last tribunal ruling.

Medical examiners classify deaths into 5 categories established much than a period ago: natural, accident, suicide, homicide and undetermined. Officials accidental those classifications are based connected aesculapian judgment, not ineligible outcomes.

Dr. Odey Ukpo, main aesculapian examiner-coroner successful Los Angeles County, said a homicide designation typically requires grounds of intent to kill.

"The accused does not get into the conveyance drunk, saying 'I'm going to termination idiosyncratic arsenic a result,' " Ukpo said.

Still, helium acknowledged determination whitethorn beryllium country to revisit however deaths are categorized, noting that modern circumstances — similar DUI crashes — were not considered erstwhile the guidelines were archetypal established.

The projected authorities would not necessitate aesculapian examiners to alteration their findings. Instead, it would let families to petition that the authorities registrar contented a caller decease certificate reflecting the result of a transgression case.

As for allowing parents to update their child's decease certificate, Dr. Upko said, "There's precedence for that, that the decease certificate has been utilized arsenic thing to fulfill a request for the family."

He points to the Missing Angels Act, which allows parents to get a commencement certificate pursuing a stillbirth. California instrumentality besides allows radical to get a caller commencement certificate accordant with the person's ineligible gender, careless of the sex assigned by the doc astatine birth.

The Not An Accident measure would usage the aforesaid ineligible process to update decease certificates, which Kellie Montalvo hopes is portion of Benjamin's last chapter.

For families similar the Montalvos, the effort is astir ensuring their loved ones' stories are accurately told.

"There is ever something," Kellie Montalvo said done tears. "When I get done, I ever conscionable look up and go, 'Look, babe — your communicative didn't end.' "

Supporters of the measure were acceptable to attest successful Sacramento connected Wednesday arsenic lawmakers see the proposal.

Amy Corral contributed to this report.

In:

• CBS California Investigates