A driver convicted of drunken driving five times before will stand trial April 10 for alleged murder in another alcohol-related crash Sept. 13 that killed a grandmother whose family was driving to Sunset Cliffs to see the sunset.
John Joseph Taskey, 46, pleaded not guilty Jan. 3 to second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and with prior DUI convictions. He was ordered to stand trial on the charges following a Dec. 17 preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court.
Taskey was sentenced to state prison in his fifth drunken-driving case in 2006.
He was on parole when his Chevrolet pickup struck the other car on Interstate 8 near the exits for Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and West Mission Bay Drive in September, said Deputy District Attorney David Grapilon.
Rosa Degerman, 76, was killed when Taskey’s truck plowed into the car her son was driving around 6:30 p.m., said Grapilon. Her adult son received a mild concussion, and Degerman’s 11-year-old granddaughter suffered a fractured shoulder. Taskey was also injured.
The victim’s family was present at the preliminary hearing but did not testify. Grapilon said Taskey should have known his driving could have caused a fatal accident and he showed “willful disregard” for life, an element of second-degree murder that the prosecutor would have to prove to a jury.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Taskey faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Grapilon said Taskey was driving at a 0.10 blood/alcohol level ” slightly above the legal limit of 0.08.
The prosecutor said Taskey was previously convicted of five drunken-driving charges in which three were felonies and the other two were misdemeanors.
Taskey, of La Mesa, remains in the George F. Bailey Detention Facility in lieu of $1 million bail.