CHP: Manslaughter Suspect Wasn’t at Office Party Before Double-Fatal Crash

Wherever Justin Foulds was in the hours before a fiery crash that killed two people Friday, it wasn’t an office party, as he told the California Highway Patrol.

Investigators agree, according to CHP Officer Brian Pennings, correcting original reports from the crash scene in La Mesa.

Foulds, 39, of Lemon Grove, was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunken driving, and faces a charge of vehicular manslaughter. He is accused of slamming his truck into the back of an SUV, killing Celia Torres, a 73-year-old grandmother, and her grandson, David Gonzalez, a 16-year-old sophomore at Grossmont High School.

The incident took place about 5:30 p.m. Friday on southbound state Route 125 near Interstate 8. TV and online reports said Foulds had been at a company party before the crash, based on what he had told the CHP. (See attached video.)

According to attorney Ken Hoyt, corporate counsel for Division 8 Inc., the El Cajon glazing business that employs Foulds as an installer, the company’s annual holiday party was Saturday afternoon at Elks Lodge 1812.

Hoyt says there was no office party on Friday, and that he has turned over information to CHP investigators that some employees may have gone to a bar after work that day.

On Friday, according to the attorney, the company’s owner, Robert Hoyt, called employees together at about 2:30 p.m. to distribute gift cards and finalize the guest list for the next day’s party. Employees were then let go for the day, and the office was closed up about 3 p.m. The yard was locked down by 4 p.m.

The attorney says Foulds was at the office Friday and received a gift card along with his co-workers.

According to the lawyer, Foulds was a recent hire, having worked for the company for just a couple of months. Hoyt says Division 8 has strict hiring policies that include drug testing, and there was nothing to indicate a problem with Foulds.

Hoyt called Saturday’s party family-oriented, and stressed that the company does not provide alcohol at its holiday gathering, though drinks were available for employees to purchase at the Elks Lodge bar.

“Every year without exception, Rob goes overboard with the importance of not drinking and driving,” Hoyt says. Employees are told to have a designated driver, or to take a cab that the company would pay for.

The incident is still under investigation. According to CHP public information officer Pennings, no evidence exists that Foulds tried to brake prior to impact with the Nissan Pathfinder driven by Torres.

Other details—such as the speed Foulds was traveling and his blood alcohol content—will not be released until the investigation is complete, Pennings said.

As of 5:30 p.m. Monday, the county Medical Examiner’s Office had yet to officially identify the victims of the crash. The office announced the cause of death, however: “Thermal injuries with smoke inhalation.”

Family members on Saturday named the victims.

Foulds is being held in County Jail on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in El Cajon Superior Court.