Man who fled fatal DUI accident pleads guilty

Bill Gang

Tuesday, June 8, 1999 | 9:46 a.m.

A Las Vegas man who fled on foot into the rugged Mount Charleston terrain after a collision left a 2-year-old girl dead has pleaded guilty to two felony charges that will put him in prison.

Juan Morales, 30, agreed to the plea bargain Monday, just half a day before his trial on nine charges of DUI, reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter was to begin.

Morales pleaded guilty to felony drunken driving and attempted leaving the scene of an accident. He is required under law to serve at least two years in prison and could be sentenced up to 12 to 30 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 19.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said Morales' car was traveling in the wrong lane when it collided nearly head-on with the car driven by Greg Brancolino.

Booker said the defendant's car struck at the spot where Brittney Brancolino was strapped securely in a car seat. Her mother, Ronnie Brancolino, suffered multiple internal injuries and broken bones that required half a year of hospitalization and rehabilitation to mend.

The baby's uncle, Michael Brancolino, suffered fractured ribs and a broken arm, Booker said, adding that another uncle, James Flood, was knocked unconscious.

Booker said that after the incident Morales and a friend surveyed the damage for a few minutes and then decided to flee on foot, leaving behind a female friend with a broken ankle.

Four hours later the pair was picked up as they tried to hitchhike along a road.

Booker said that when Morales' blood-alcohol level was tested, it still registered 0.07 percent, indicating that at the time of the collision it could have been nearly twice the legal limit of 0.10 percent necessary to prove drunken driving.

In court Monday Morales said he had only two drinks before the crash.