Viet man guilty of murdering unborn child in collision death

An O.C. Viet man running away from the police and getting on the freeway in the wrong direction, hitting a car and killing the fetus inside an eight-month-pregnant woman, has been convicted of murder in the death of the unborn child, according to a press release sent out yesterday from the Orange County D.A.’s office.

Hung Van Mai, 37, Santa Ana, was found guilty of one felony count of murder, one felony count of evading while driving recklessly and a true finding on the sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury.

The killing arose out of routine night-time traffic check in 2006, when Mai was stopped for having tinted windows. As officers flagged him, Mai refused to stop and started running away, leading police on a high-speed chase on surface street, at times reaching 65 mph.

In an effort to escape, Mai even turned off his headlights and ran blind. Running north on Harbor, Mai turned the wrong way onto the Freeway 22 exit ramp.

When he realized he drove up the wrong ramp, Mai swerved and tried to U-turn. A car that was exiting slammed into the side of Mai’s car. The whole thing was capture on a camera on a police car.

Driving the car was then-22-year-old Anthony Moore. Sitting in the passenger was his girlfriend, Sully Portillo, at the time also 22 years old. Portillo was eight months pregnant.

Her fetus died.

Mai faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison.

Full text of the DA’s press release follows.

October 28, 2008

DRIVER CONVICTED OF MURDERING UNBORN BABY BOY IN HIGH SPEED CRASH WHILE FLEEING FROM POLICE ON WRONG SIDE OF FREEWAY

SANTA ANA – A driver who was fleeing from police on the wrong side of the freeway was convicted today of murdering an unborn baby boy in a high-speed crash. Hung Van Mai, 37, Santa Ana, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of murder, one felony count of evading while driving recklessly and a true finding on the sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury. Mai has a prior strike conviction for a 1990 assault with a firearm. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on Dec. 19, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-44, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on March 30, 2006, Garden Grove police officers attempted to perform a routine traffic stop on Mai for having darkly tinted car windows. Mai refused to stop as officers followed him with lights and sirens. He attempted to flee and led police on a high-speed chase at speeds up to 65 mph on local roads. Mai turned off his headlights in an effort to make it more difficult for officers to see and follow his car. He sped northbound on Harbor Boulevard and entered the wrong way onto the exit ramp to State Route 22. Mai was driving the wrong direction up the ramp onto the freeway into oncoming traffic and attempted to make a high-speed U-turn. Anthony Moore, then 22-years-old, was driving 65 mph on the freeway and crashed head-on into the front passenger door of Mai’s car. The crash was captured on video by the camera in the patrol car.

Mai suffered only minor cuts. Moore suffered broken bones. His girlfriend, Sully Portillo, then 22-year-old, was in the passenger seat of Moore’s car and was eight months pregnant. Portillo underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured uterus, broken bones, and suffered a concussion. Moore and Portillo’s unborn child, Baby Boy Portillo, was killed.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.

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