PASADENA, Calif. — A Los Angeles County prosecutor arguing for the murder conviction of a truck driver charged in a deadly crash told jurors Tuesday he "turned his big rig into a death rig" by ignoring warnings that the mountain road he was driving on was unsafe for an 18-wheeler.
Deputy District Attorney Carolina Lugo said 46-year-old Marcos Costa failed to respond appropriately after smoke began pouring from the brakes of his 25-ton truck as he hauled cars over the San Gabriel Mountains in 2009. Costa is charged with seven counts, including second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving for causing a crash that killed two people and injured three others.
Costa, a native of Brazil who speaks Portuguese, testified that his language difficulties prevented him from knowing exactly what the problems were ahead.
Deputy District Attorney Carolina Lugo told jurors that was an unacceptable excuse.
"Smoke in any language means there's a problem," Lugo argued.
She stressed repeatedly that he was warned by an off-duty fireman who stopped on him on the Angeles Crest Highway above La Canada Flintridge that it was too dangerous for him to continue and he should turn around.
She said that Costa admitted he understood that it was dangerous but couldn't find a way to reverse course. Flashing a picture on the screen in the courtroom, she showed a wide expanse of park on his route where he could have turned around.
"He decided to keep going up the mountain, endangering the lives of others on the road," she said.
At one point, she said he stopped and poured gallons of water on his brakes to cool them down, but then started up again without waiting for them to cool.
"The most tragic part of this is, had the defendant waited, his brakes would have cooled down and he would have been able to brake again," she said. "He acted with a conscious disregard for human life. This was not an accident."
The two people killed — 12-year-old Angelina Posca, and her 58-year-old father, Angel George Posca of Palmdale — were in a sedan that was struck by Costa's truck. They were pushed along the roadway and struck by several other cars before the truck slammed into a bookstore.
Occupants of the other cars who suffered major injuries testified at the 5-week trial.
Costa's lawyer, who will deliver his closing argument Wednesday, has said that the crash was tragic but was not Costa's fault. He said it was an accident and did not amount to murder.
Costa, who testified through an interpreter, said he lost his brakes.
"I was desperate. I was in a panic. I didn't know what to do," he testified.