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Jeffrey David Kirby, 53, has been found guilty of one felony count of vehicular manslaughter for causing the accident that killed TapouT founder Charles 'Mask' Lewis.
Press Release from the Orange County, CA District Attorney's office follows:
December 8, 2010
SECOND-TIME DRUNKEN DRIVER CONVICTED OF KILLING ANOTHER MOTORIST BY SPLITTING VICTIM'S VEHICLE IN HALF IN HIGH SPEED CRASH
SANTA ANA - A second-time drunken was convicted today of killing a man and injuring his passenger after crashing his Porsche into the victim's Ferrari, causing it to slam into a light pole and spilt in half. Jeffrey David Kirby, 53, Costa Mesa, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful act with gross negligence while intoxicated and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury was found true. He has a prior conviction for driving under the influence in 2002. Kirby faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in state prison at his sentencing Feb. 4, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-30, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on March 11, 2009, Kirby was speeding in his 1977 Porsche with a 32-year-old female passenger, Lynn Marie Nabozny, alongside a 2004 Ferrari driven by 45-year-old Charles David Lewis, Jr., on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach. Kirby lost control of his car due to his unsafe speed and crashed into Lewis' vehicle. Lewis lost control of his Ferrari, which crashed into a cement light pole and was torn in half. Kirby swerved and came to a stop on Jamboree Road for several seconds before accelerating and leaving the scene.
A Newport Beach Police officer, who had been passing northbound on Jamboree, observed the crash and immediately stopped to assist Lewis and called for back up. Lewis was trapped inside the front half of the Ferrari, which had to be dismantled in order to remove him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lewis' 23-year-old passenger, Lacy Lynn White, was ejected from the car and landed on the nearby dirt embankment. White was transported to Western Medical Center to be treated for several bone fractures, lacerations and abrasions.
After leaving the scene, Kirby parked his Porsche, which had body damage consistent with having been involved in a crash, on Bison Avenue. Within minutes of the crash, a responding Newport Beach Police officer observed Kirby's parked car and saw the defendant and Nabozny walking outside of the defendant's vehicle. Kirby and Nabozny were both apprehended. When contacted by officers, the defendant was emitting an odor of alcohol, slurring his speech, and had bloodshot and watery eyes. He was arrested at the scene.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., two hours after the crash, Kirby had a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. Nabozny was arrested for public intoxication and later released.
Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez of the Vehicular Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
