Teen in Nevada crash that killed 5 was fugitive

4/4/2013

LOS ANGELES — An 18-year-old man facing drunken driving charges in a Nevada interstate crash that killed five members of a Southern California family was a fugitive from a California juvenile facility at the time of the accident.

Todd Spitzer, an Orange County supervisor, wants an investigation to determine whether any efforts were made to locate Jean Ervin Soriano after he escaped from the county facility. Spitzer says the Board of Supervisors only learned about Soriano's fugitive status this week, though the escape occurred March 1.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department says it isn't aware if it assisted in searching for Soriano. The county probation department, which oversees the facility, declines to comment.

Soriano was arrested Saturday after the SUV he was driving rear-ended a van on a freeway outside Las Vegas.