Blood Alcohol Level of Driver in Crash Was 4 Times Limit

The wrong-way driver blamed for the collision Sunday morning that killed him and three others on the Orange Freeway had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, authorities said Wednesday.

Tests showed that Jose Asuncion Solis Tenorio of Anaheim had a .42 blood alcohol level, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. The legal limit is .10.

“That is extremely intoxicated,” said Ted Sullivan, senior deputy coroner.

High-Speed Collision

Police said Solis, 32, was driving about 75 m.p.h. when he crashed head-on into the car carrying Joics Stone, 70, and Gene Jolley Stone, 67, of Hacienda Heights, and her mother, Ida Holt, 89, of Long Beach.

Solis’ relatives Monday night rejected the possibility that he had been drinking that morning.

“He doesn’t drink,” said Maria Ortiz, his sister-in-law.

However, family members said Solis, married and the father of two, was despondent about mounting financial problems and pain from a back injury.

“I would not like to think it was anything other than a mistake,” Ortiz said.

Officers said they do not know how long Solis had been driving south in the northbound lanes before the crash a mile north of Katella Avenue.

“I don’t know if it (the test result) tells the entire story, but it must be taken into account,” CHP Officer Paul Caldwell said.

“There were no skid marks, and it appears neither car was slowing down at the moment of impact,” Caldwell said.

Solis’ driving record at the Department of Motor Vehicles shows that the former truck driver was cited three times since 1985: for spilling a load on the highway, driving with an overweight load and failing to yield the right of way in an alley. In November, 1987, he was involved in an accident in Glendale and received a back injury that prevented him from returning to work.

Going to Church

The Stones, married for 28 years, were traveling to church for the blessing of their 48th grandchild, family members said.

Joics Stone was a psychology professor at Cal Poly Pomona, and Gene Stone was in charge of welfare activities in Southern California for the Mormon Church. They are survived by 12 children: six from her former marriage, five from his former marriage and one of their own.

Ida Moyle Holt was the great-grandmother of “a countless number,” said Bryant Jolley, Gene Stone’s son.

Services for the Stones will be at 10 a.m. today at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 16750 Colima Road, Hacienda Heights.