Alleged drunken driver accused in 8-year-old girl’s death in East County has prior DUI conviction

A man accused of driving a pickup while intoxicated, crashing head-on into a car in rural East County and killing an 8-year-old girl over the weekend, was in the country illegally and had been previously convicted of DUI, according to authorities.

Brayan Josue Alva Rodriguez, 25, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter in connection with Sunday’s crash on county Highway S-2, also known as San Felipe Road, near Ranchita, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He was among several injured in the crash and was arraigned in the hospital Tuesday.

Alva, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by Border Patrol in Calexico in 2018 and released after being served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

While in immigration proceedings, he was charged in connection with a Sept. 6, 2020, crash. Court documents indicate Alva pleaded guilty in April 2021 to misdemeanor drunken driving and an allegation that his blood-alcohol content in that crash was at least 0.15%. Prosecutors dropped other misdemeanor charges he faced, including hit and run and driving without a license.

Records indicate that when Alva pleaded guilty, he had been warned that if he drove under the influence and killed someone as a result, he could be charg...