Christopher Paul Shore got married, got drunk and got behind the wheel, "He did so at his own peril," "And when he did, he got into an accident and his wife was injured."Deputy District Attorney Marc Caress told a jury in his opening statement. Shore's felony drunk driving trial began Tuesday in Orange County.
Shore, 46, was driving in his SUV with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his system on July 7, 2011, Caress said. Shore then suddenly veered across four lanes of traffic on the I-5 freeway in San Juan Capistrano, drove across the shoulder and down a dirt embankment before he crashed into a tree. His new bride of about seven hours, Tina Wilson Shore, suffered serious injuries in the crash, Caress said.
Shore who has four prior DUI convictions on his record now faces a six-year prison sentence if the jury convicts him of felony drunk driving with injuries and an enhancement of causing great bodily injuries.
Shore's attorney Deputy Public Defender Richard Cheung acknowledged in his opening statement that his client got married on the spur of the moment at the county courthouse in Laguna Niguel on July 7, and then dined with his new wife at BJ's Restaurant before meeting some friends at a local pub called Mugs Away for a few drinks. But Cheung argued that Tina Shore did not suffer great bodily injury in the solo car crash. He said she was transported to a hospital and had stitches near her eyebrow, she was not admitted to the hospital and was released that same day. "She had no head trauma and no neck trauma," Cheung said. "She will tell you that she didn't feel she was seriously injured." The great bodily injury penalty enhancement adds three years to Shore's potential prison sentence if he is convicted of the felony drunk driving.
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