SANTA ANA - A drunken driver was convicted today of killing his passenger and injuring an occupant in another vehicle after losing control of his car while speeding. Yannis Ismael Galanis, 28, Bellflower, pleaded guilty to the court to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury with a prior conviction, and driving with a blood alcohol .08 percent or more causing injury with a prior conviction, with a sentencing enhancement allegation for causing bodily injury. Galanis has a prior conviction for driving under the influence in 2002. He faces a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in state prison at his sentencing Oct. 21, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department N-4, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
At approximately 12:50 a.m. on July 17, 2011, Galanis was driving at a high rate of speed while under the influence of alcohol in his GMC pick-up truck southbound on the Interstate 5 near Disneyland Drive in Anaheim. The defendant’s friend, 29-year-old Edgar Murillo, was riding in the passenger seat. Galanis suddenly swerved from one lane into the next and crashed into a car driven by Olger A. Victim Viamey C. was riding in Olgar A.’s passenger seat.
Galanis lost control of his truck from the force of the crash and traveled up a dirt embankment before hitting a concrete bridge abutment head-on. The defendant’s truck then re-entered traffic lanes before finally coming to a stop on the freeway.
The California Highway Patrol responded to the scene. Galanis was found unconscious by CHP officers with a cut to his head. He was transported to the hospital. Approximately three hours after the crash, the defendant had a blood alcohol level of .11 percent and had cocaine in his blood.
Murillo was also unconscious when officers arrived and was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:15 a.m. Viamey C. was transported to the hospital to be treated for pain to her upper back, neck, and ribs. Olger A. complained of pain to his neck but was not transported from the scene to the hospital.
