SAN DIEGO—A man who drove drunk and crashed a car into a traffic pole in Poway, killing his passenger, pleaded guilty April 19 to charges that include gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Jordan Bourassa, 24, had a blood-alcohol level of .33 percent—over four times the legal driving limit in California—a few hours after the May 25, 2022, crash that killed 30-year-old Gage Ponder, according to Deputy District Attorney Taylor Morrison.
Bourassa was driving east on Twin Peaks Road, near Community Road, just before 3:30 a.m. when the car went off the side of the road, crashed into a signal light pole, and overturned.
Ponder died at a hospital. Bourassa was hospitalized for injuries sustained in the crash.
He is slated to be sentenced next month to six years in state prison following his pleas to the manslaughter count, as well as a count of DUI causing injury.
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