The alleged drunk driver accused of causing the deaths of his two passengers in La Jolla told a jury on Jan. 23 that his passengers helped caused their own deaths by their conduct.

Peter John Meno, 28, spoke publicly for the first time since being charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated in the Nov. 25, 2020 deaths of Jaden Rowley, 22, and Matthew “Max” Cate, Jr. 19.

“I wasn’t the cause of the accident. The way Jaden and Max were acting in the car was crazy,” said Meno. “If they were seated, the accident wouldn’t have happened.”

Meno said both men unfastened their seat belts and stuck their bodies outside the windows while he was driving his new Nissan Altima on Torrey Pines Road at 3 a.m.

“If my friends did not behave like that, they might be standing here today,” said Meno.

All three of them had been drinking alcohol after attending a party in Kearny Mesa, but Meno told his attorney, Jodi Green, “I felt OK to drive.”

“Did you feel you were unable to drive because of all the alcohol you had?” asked Green.

“No, ma’am,” replied Meno.

Approximately a dozen family members of both victims have attended the trial daily since it started on on Jan. 12.

Meno told the jury and San Diego Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin that he was driving to La Jolla to find a taco shop that was open when he heard the seat belt alarms going off.

“I felt a gust of wind coming from the windows,” said Meno. “Both Max and Jadon were trying to get out the windows. I said, ‘Guys, what are you doing?'”

“I immediately grabbed Jaden and pulled him back,” said Meno, gesturing as he said he held the steering wheel with his left hand while turning onto Girard Avenue.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Meno described how his vehicle struck the curb and two trees, causing Rowley to have a gash across his forehead.

“Please wake up,” recounted Meno as to what he said to Rowley.

Cate, whose head struck a tree, was thrown from the vehicle. Meno said he went to Cate and immediately began to perform CPR on him for 3-5 minutes. Meno said he used to be a lifeguard at a beach and knew how to perform CPR.

“I remember walking around the scene, trying to make sense of what happened,” said Meno.

Meno acknowledged to his attorney that he lied to police when he said he was trying to avoid a car with headlights and that he had not consumed alcohol. He said he lied because “I was scared.”

On cross examination with prosecutor Cally Bright, Meno acknowledged he was driving with a suspended license because he got tickets for running a red light and speeding. He also said he had no insurance on his car.

“I was doing my best to slow down. Something distracted me from the road,” said Meno. “I did my best to slow down. I drove that night. I wish I didn’t.”

Meno was the only witness presented Monday. The case will be given to the jury this week. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $100,000 bond.