MESQUITE, Nev., July 11 (UPI) -- Charges were dropped against a Nevada teen, who was accused of driving drunk in a crash that killed five people, after new evidence showed he wasn't driving.
Jean Ervin Soriano, 18, was charged with multiple counts, including DUI and causing death or great bodily injury, after the vehicle he was in rear-ended a van, causing it to spin out of control and eject five of its seven passengers, who were from California, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Soriano's lawyer, Frank Cofer, argued Soriano was not the driver of the vehicle, but was sitting in the front passenger seat.
"Blood evidence on the passenger window and console did match Mr. Soriano," Cofer said Wednesday. Additionally, a shoe print on the ground outside driver's side of the vehicle didn't match Soriano's.
The only other person in the car with Soriano was Alfred Gomez, 23, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Soriano allegedly confessed to being the driver to police at the time of the crash, but Cofer said his client was coerced.
"Police should never rely solely on a confession that's not corroborated by physical evidence," he said. "Physical evidence can't be intimidated, it can't be coerced."
Gomez's blood alcohol level was not taken at the time of the crash, the Times said.
One of the survivors of the crash, who was in the van, said she heard two men arguing about who was driving before police arrived on the scene, the Times reported.
