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Mini Cooper driver had DUI as a 17-year-old

Autopsies today on family of four

Published: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 10:43 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 10:43 a.m.

The 19-year-old driver of a Mini Cooper who crashed into a mini-van last weekend, killing a Sonoma family of four, was arrested for drunken driving when he was 17, according to the CHP.

Whether alcohol was involved in Saturday night's fatal crash remained unanswered Tuesday, pending results of a toxicology test ordered by the CHP.

Culbertson, of Lakeport, died from injuries the morning after the crash.

Autopsies on the bodies of the Maloney family were scheduled for Tuesday, said the Sonoma County Coroner's Office. Culbertson's autopsy was scheduled to follow the Maloney familys' autopsies.

At 17, on June 1, 2007, the teen got into a crash in Lake County. He was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, according to the CHP. As a result, he was given a one-year license suspension from the DMV, which is a standard result of such an arrest.

Details on the 2007 crash weren't available.

Culbertson had no other driving infractions, according to the CHP.

The collision Saturday night was at the intersection of Highway 37 and Lakeville Highway.

The Maloney family was heading through it on Highway 37 with a green light when Culbertson ran the red light and T-boned their van.

The four, Johnathan, 45, Susan, 42, Aiden, 8 and Grace, 5, were killed in the crash. Culbertson was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was determined to be brain dead and kept alive on life support.

He was declared dead Sunday at 11:15 a.m., according to the coroner's office.

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