Sleeping grandma dies when accused DUI driver crashes into home, CA officials say
An accused drunk driver crashed into a home, killing a 73-year-old grandmother and injuring her granddaughter as they slept, California prosecutors say.
Ryan Mota, 24, has been charged with DUI gross vehicular manslaughter in the fatal Downey crash, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a Sept. 10 news release.
Attorney information for Mota was not immediately available.
“There is no excuse for driving under the influence,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “My heart goes out to the victims and their families who experienced an unimaginable waking nightmare.”
Mota is accused of driving under the influence in the early morning hours of Aug. 16 when he crashed into a Downey home, prosecutors said.
Agia Guirguis and her 24-year-old granddaughter were asleep in their bedrooms when Mota’s car came barreling through, the district attorney’s office said.
A neighbor told KCAL he “heard a car going very, very fast.”
“I heard some sort of impact a few seconds later,” David Crespo told the TV station. “Then, I heard the cops 10 minutes later just going by in full force.”
Guirguis died on scene, officials said, adding that the crash left her granddaughter hospitalized from her injuries.
The car’s impact awakened other family members in the home, but they were not hurt, prosecutors said.
In addition to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, Mota was also charged with “one felony count of driving with a 0.08% blood alcohol concentration or more causing injury,” prosecutors said,
According to prosecutors, Mota “caused bodily injury and death to more than one victim; had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15% or more; and refused to take a chemical test.”
Mota, whose bail was set at $200,000, faces a maximum of 13 years and eight months in prison if he’s convicted of all charges, prosecutors said.
An investigation by Downey police is ongoing, officials said.
Downey is about a 10-mile drive southeast from downtown Los Angeles.
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Sleeping grandma dies when accused DUI driver crashes into home, CA officials say."
