DUI suspect with 3 prior convictions faces murder charge in Brisbane crash

(KRON) — A Brisbane man with a history of DUI convictions is charged with killing a mother and seriously injuring her 4-year-old daughter with his truck earlier this year. Prosecutors said 71-year-old Michael Jeffry Bovo had a blood-alcohol level over three times the legal limit during the tragic crash.

On the evening of February 7, Aimee Fernandez was parked at the curb near Midtown Market with her daughter in the vehicle. Meanwhile, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said Bovo was intoxicated, swerving his Ford F-150 across the center lines of Tunnel Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard.

Fernandez, 43, was reaching into her vehicle to get her daughter when Bovo blew through a stop sign and struck the mother, her child and three cars before the Ford came to a rest, prosecutors said.

Several witnesses to the collision, whom the Brisbane Police Department referred to as “local heroes,” immediately worked to contain the scene and close the roadway using nearby barricades. The residents “provided emotional support to the daughter, shielding her from witnessing her mother’s injuries,” police said.

Arriving officers noticed a “strong odor of alcohol” on Bovo, prosecutors said, and found a bottle of vodka in his sweater’s pocket. The bottle was three-quarters consumed, according to the DA’s office.

Police did not perform a field sobriety test at the scene due to Bovo’s injuries. At the hospital, a blood sample showed Bovo had a blood-alcohol level of 0.28%, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08%.

Bovo has three prior DUI convictions, prosecutors said. Court records show Bovo was arrested for DUI five days before the crash and was on supervised release.

Fernandez and her daughter were seriously injured in the collision, according to the DA’s office. The mother died two weeks following the crash after being taken off life support.

On March 6, Bovo pleaded not guilty to murder, child abuse, DUI causing injury and driving with a 0.08% BAC causing injury. He denied more than a dozen enhancements and special allegations in connection with the charges.

Bovo appeared in San Mateo County Superior Court on Wednesday, where the defense’s motion to continue the case was granted. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 4. He remains in custody with no bail.