SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer says her client did not intend to drive drunk before a crash that killed Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, and has asked a judge to drop a murder charge.
Attorney Jacqueline Goodman said in a motion Thursday that 23-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo’s designated driver got drunk, so Gallo took the wheel of his minivan instead.
Goodman says Gallo did not have the “implied malice” required for second-degree murder.
Prosecutors say Gallo’s intent was irrelevant because he still chose to drive.
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Friday.
Authorities say Gallo was well over the legal alcohol limit in the crash in Fullerton last year that killed the 22-year-old Adenhart and two others.
Gallo has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for next month.
