Alleged drunken driver accused in 8-year-old girl’s death in East County has prior DUI conviction

A man accused of driving a pickup while intoxicated, crashing head-on into a car in rural East County and killing an 8-year-old girl over the weekend, was in the country illegally and had been previously convicted of DUI, according to authorities.

Brayan Josue Alva Rodriguez, 25, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter in connection with Sunday’s crash on county Highway S-2, also known as San Felipe Road, near Ranchita, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He was among several injured in the crash and was arraigned in the hospital Tuesday.

Alva, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by Border Patrol in Calexico in 2018 and released after being served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

While in immigration proceedings, he was charged in connection with a Sept. 6, 2020, crash. Court documents indicate Alva pleaded guilty in April 2021 to misdemeanor drunken driving and an allegation that his blood-alcohol content in that crash was at least 0.15%. Prosecutors dropped other misdemeanor charges he faced, including hit and run and driving without a license.

Records indicate that when Alva pleaded guilty, he had been warned that if he drove under the influence and killed someone as a result, he could be charged with murder. He was sentenced to five years of probation, which records indicate was set to end next year.

An immigration judge ordered him removed from the country in 2023, but he did not leave, ICE said.

“Now an innocent life has been lost in a tragedy that could have been prevented,” ICE’s San Diego office said on social media.

The girl who was killed Sunday was identified in court documents as Aria T. Her full name has not been released. A GoFundMe account set up to support her family spells her name as Arya.

The latest crash occurred around 3 p.m. Sunday, when a 2025 Toyota Tacoma, allegedly driven by Alva, crossed over the solid double-yellow line on San Felipe and struck a southbound Toyota Camry head-on, according to the California Highway Patrol. The truck then crashed into the right side of a Ford F-350 pulling a utility trailer ahead of him that was also driving north, officials said.

The Tacoma then rolled over and caught fire. Alva and a 24-year-old passenger were able to get out of the burning truck on their own, according to Cal Fire. A 13-year-old rear passenger in the Ford truck also sustained minor injuries, the CHP said.

All occupants of the Camry were taken to hospitals: the driver, a 26-year-old man from Yuma; his front passenger, a 28-year-old woman; and three children in the back, a 5-year-old boy, a 4-year-old boy and the girl who died.

According to the verified GoFundMe account for the family, the father was a Marine sergeant stationed in Yuma, and the family was preparing for his transition out of the military — with belongings packed into their car when the collision happened.

“Now, with nothing but what they had with them that day, they are facing the unimaginable: recovering from life-altering injuries while grieving the loss of a precious child,” the posting reads. It also states that the father and the two surviving children were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Besides murder and gross vehicular manslaughter counts, Alva, an Oceanside resident, also faces two additional charges of driving while intoxicated causing injury within 10 years of a DUI conviction. The charges relate to injuries suffered by those in Sunday’s crash, including a man who “suffered paralysis of a permanent nature,” the complaint says.

At Tuesday’s arraignment, a district attorney’s spokesperson said bail was set at $2 million. Alva was expected to be booked into jail upon being released from the hospital. The extent of his injuries was not released. The next court hearing has been set for Jan. 7.

ICE officials said they would be requesting an immigration detainer — which would allow federal agents to take a person into custody before their release from a local jail.

The California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, limits cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration agencies, although there are exceptions for those who have been convicted of certain serious or violent felonies.

Staff writers Karen Kucher and Teri Figueroa contributed to this report.