People v. McFarland

Opinion

KAUFMAN, J.

We granted review in this matter to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeal as to whether Penal Code section 6541 precludes separate punishment where a drunk driver kills one victim and injures another in the same driving accident. We conclude that under these circumstances section 654 does not prohibit separate punishment.

Facts and Procedural History

On April 27, 1986, defendant Donald Joseph McFarland, Jr., while driving north on Carlsbad Boulevard in the County of San Diego, slammed into the rear of a car that was stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to…